TITLE:
Non-Isothermal Degradation and Thermodynamic Properties of Pine Sawdust
AUTHORS:
Zephania Chaula, Geoffrey John, Mahir Said, Samwel Manyele, Cuthbert Mhilu
KEYWORDS:
Pine Sawdust, Non-Isothermal Kinetics, Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis, Activated Complex
JOURNAL NAME:
Smart Grid and Renewable Energy,
Vol.9 No.12,
December
28,
2018
ABSTRACT: The study of non-isothermal kinetics analyzed the reactivity of pine sawdust, while the thermodynamic properties analyzed energy consumed and released from the pine sawdust. The kinetic parameters were determined by analyzing mass loss of pine sawdust components by using Thermogravimeric analyzer. The cellulose has the highest conversion rate of 9.5%/min at 610 K compared to hemicellulose and lignin, which are 5%/min at 600 K and 2%/min at 800 K, respectively. The activation Energy for cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin was 457.644, 259.876, and 89.950 kJ/mol, respectively. The thermodynamic properties included the change of Gibbs free energy for cellulose and hemicellulose, which were -214.440 and -30.825 kJ/mol respectively, their degradation was spontaneous in forward direction, while change of Gibbs free energy for lignin was 207.507 kJ/mol, which is non-spontaneous reaction. The positive value of change of entropies for the active complex compounds formed from hemicellulose and cellulose is less stable, while the active complex compounds of lignin are characterized by a much higher degree of arrangement since its change of entropy is negative. The kinetic and thermodynamic properties show that pine sawdust is a good candidate for production of char since it is easier to remove hemicellulose through thermal process.