Thermal and kinetic analysis of pressurized oxy-fuel combustion of pulverized coal: An interpretation of combustion mechanism

•Pressurized oxy-fuel combustion performance of a typical bituminous coal is investigated.•The thermodynamics parameters and the most probabilistic kinetic model for the pressurized oxy-fuel combustion process are analyzed.•Elevating pressure can significantly improve the combustion performance of coal but the promotion effect gradually alleviates.•The ignition mechanism transforms from heterogeneous to homogeneous when the oxygen concentration reaches 50% at 0.5 MPa.