The intrinsic oxidation reactivity in air of an activated carbon char derived from bituminous coal was investigated using a new thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) method. Applying the new method, values of the Arrhenius activation energy E and pre-exponential factor A were estimated from TGA data obtained via heating samples at different constant rates. A novel statistical criterion was subsequently used to determine the heating rate at which optimum values of E and A were obtained. This is a valuable development, for in conventional non-isothermal TGA, while it is accepted that Arrhenius parameters vary with heating rate, there is no formal method for selecting one rate (and hence one set of values of E and A) over another. Using this new method, the following optimum values were obtained for the carbon at a heating rate of 25 degrees C min(-1): E = 129.4 kJ mol(-1) and In(A/s(-1)) = 10.4. These results are very similar to those calculated for the same material using more time consuming and less accurate isothermal TGA methods. It is therefore proposed that this new analysis method might be an improvement on conventional techniques to determine the intrinsic oxidation reactivity in air of coal chars. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.