A kinetic study on the gasification of char with CO2 is presented in this paper. The chars from different coking temperatures show a different reactivity, which can be mostly attributed to kinetic parameters (E-A, k(m), eta) and the specific surface area values. The kinetic analysis results with CO2 gasification of chars from the Soma-lsiklar lignite present that CO2 gasification rates for chars are controlled by chemical reaction at experimental gasification temperature range. Therefore, the specific surface area and kinetic parameters of prepared chars from Soma-Isiklar lignite should be considered as a very important factor for the gasification reactivity and rates. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.