title: Kinetics of the pyrolysis of arundo, sawdust, corn stover and switch grass biomass by thermogravimetric analysis using a multi-stage model.
abstract: A new multi-stage kinetic model has been developed for TGA pyrolysis of arundo, corn stover, sawdust and switch grass that accounts for the initial biomass weight (W0). The biomass were decomposed in a nitrogen atmosphere from 23°C to 900°C in a TGA at a single 20°C/min ramp rate in contrast with the isoconversion technique. The decomposition was divided into multiple stages based on the absolute local minimum values of conversion derivative, (dx/dT), obtained from DTG curves. This resulted in three decomposition stages for arundo, corn stover and sawdust and four stages for switch grass. A linearized multi-stage model was applied to the TGA data for each stage to determine the pre-exponential factor, activation energy, and reaction order. The activation energies ranged from 54.7 to 60.9 kJ/mol, 62.9 to 108.7 kJ/mol, and 18.4 to 257.9 kJ/mol for the first, second and the third decomposition stages respectively.
authors.affiliation: Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA; Department of Mechanical Engineering, P.O. Box 519, MS 2525, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA. Electronic address: pobiney@pvamu.edu.
authors.forename: Paul O
authors.initials: PO
authors.lastname: Biney
authors.affiliation: Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA; Department of Chemical Engineering, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA. Electronic address: migyamerah@pvamu.edu.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gyamerah
authors.affiliation: Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA. Electronic address: js034@uark.edu.
authors.forename: Jiacheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA; Department of Chemical Engineering, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX 77446, USA. Electronic address: bmenezes@student.pvamu.edu.
authors.forename: Bruna
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Menezes
mesh_terms: D018533:Biomass; D007700:Kinetics; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D008897:Panicum / Q000737:chemistry*; D006109:Poaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D013696:Temperature; D013818:Thermogravimetry / Q000379:methods*; D014835:Volatilization; D003313:Zea mays / Q000737:chemistry*
keywords: Activation energy; Biomass; Kinetic model; Pseudo-unimolecule; Thermogravimetric analysis