LAUSR

Fine slag (FS), a byproduct of coal gasification, consists of mineral-rich particles (MRP) and residual carbon particles (RCP). The characteristics of the MRP were investigated by laser particle size analysis, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), the N2 adsorption technique, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy (RS). The particle size of FS is larger than that of MRP, which implies that the size of the MRP is smaller than that of the major residual carbon particles (RCP). MRP mainly consist of solid particles with a low porosity and contain a limited number of macropores with a pore size of 0.14–2 µm, most of which are independent of each other inside the particles. A few crevices, holes, and round pores can be seen on the surface of the particles. The majority of MRP exhibit a comparatively smooth surface texture with debris particles adhered to the surface, while so...