Coal combustion is investigated in both air and oxy-fuel conditions in a pilot-scale entrained flow reactor able to provide high temperatures, heating rates and residence times. Measurements are carried out with
different levels of complexity and are aimed at: assessing the thermal field inside the reactor; evaluating conversions of devolatilization or char combustion tests; identifying phenomena such as volatiles ignition
and measuring the ignition delay time. Computational Fluid Dynamics was also used in order to provide a better understanding of the experimental evidences. Among the results, the ignition delay time was found
to be larger in oxy-fuel conditions than in air, mainly because of the larger specific heat of the oxy-fuel environment. The proposed investigation may help the qualification of advanced experimental apparatus
as entrained flow reactors, with the purpose to make them suitable for heterogeneous kinetics studies in oxy-fuel conditions