Two different catalysts (Na2CO3, Li2CO3) were impregnated into a low-rank lignite coke to investigate the effects of catalyst type at different reaction temperatures (600-700 degrees C) on the rate of steam gasification in a fixed reactor. Total conversion sharply increases with increasing gasification time and with the use of Na2CO3 and Li2CO3. The catalytic activities under identical experimental conditions were found to be ranked as Na2CO3 > Li2CO3. Activation energies and frequency factors of the catalytic reactions were deduced through a kinetic model and compared with noncatalytic steam gasification reactions. Catalytic reactions yielded much smaller values than those of the noncatalytic reactions. Furthermore, if is also observed that the conversion rate is primarily affected by the reaction temperature.