In this investigation, coal pellets were combusted using a high temperature oxidizer with varying oxygen concentration, using a small scale batch reactor able to preheat the oxidizer to 1273K. In base of the experimental results, the influence of oxygen concentration on the ignition mechanism, the solid temperature inside the particle at the moment of ignition, the mass lost at the moment of the ignition and ignition time is analyzed and discussed. A theoretical basis for the division of the conditions tested into three ignition regimes is developed and a formula for the prediction of the ignition time directly from the material and oxidizer temperature and oxygen concentration is proposed.