Kinetics of pyrolysis of wood biomass under isothermal conditions

Abstract

The paper discusses the results of a kinetic study of the pyrolysis of woody biomass (ordinary oak wood – Quercus robur) under static conditions at temperatures of 673, 773 and 873 K. In experiments, biomass samples weighing about 1.4 g were kept in a heating furnace for a certain period, after which their residual weight was measured and the degree of decomposition achieved was determined. A total of 7 series of experiments were performed: two series each at temperatures of 673 and 873 K and three series at a temperature of 773 K. The obtained results were analyzed in the framework of a single-stage chemical reaction (one-step global model), leading to a loss of the initial mass. It was established that from the phenomenological point of view, the pyrolysis of woody biomass under experimental conditions corresponds to the sigmoidal reaction model by Avarami–Erofeev with an exponent n ranging from 0.508 to 0.985. The use of the results of the first series of experiments led to an activation energy value of 57.2 kJ/mol and a pre-exponential factor value of 38 s^–1. The other series of experiments gave an activation energy value of 64.9 kJ/mol and a preexponential factor value of 130 s^–1. It is shown that the use of these values of the activation energy and the preexponential factor leads to agreement of the calculated values of the degree of decomposition of the studied biomass samples with the experimental ones in the range of values of the degree of decomposition from 0 to 1. The data presented in this work contribute to a more complete understanding of the kinetics of pyrolysis of biomass, which is necessary for the development of effective equipment for the thermochemical processing of vegetable raw materials.