Inhibition of Spontaneous Combustion Characteristic of Biomass Treated with Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids Using Thermogravimetric Analysis.

The co-firing of biomass is now widely acceptable as a clean coal technology option, and the storage and transportation of this fuel are essential as fuels ignite on their own. Spontaneous combustion (SPONCOM) is a well-known phenomenon in the coal mining sector, but little is known of the inherent properties of biomass toward SPONCOM. This study assessed the influence of three imidazolium-base ionic liquids (ILs), , , and [BmimOAc] on the SPONCOM liability of biomass sample harvested from the Vaal River Mine, South Africa.