A large number of papers reported measures of coal char conversion rate under combustion and gasification conditions. Measures involved a variety of coal and char types, as well as different experimental techniques, ranging from TGA to wire mesh reactors and drop tube furnaces. For oxy-combustion with flue gas recirculation the impact of CO2 on the rate of combustion of char combustion is still controversial. In the present paper the rate of carbon conversion in O-2/CO2 mixtures typical of oxyfuel conditions has been investigated by conventional as well as innovative experimental techniques, respectively isothermal/non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis and reaction in an aerodynamic levitator particle reactor (ALPR). Results show that the ALPR provides reliable results also at values of temperature and oxygen concentration where thermogravimetric analysis fails. Experimental results have been worked out to obtain simple rate expressions for oxy-fuel combustion. Commonly used kinetic laws, however, proved unable to fit the experimental results in the whole range of operating conditions. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.