Catalytic effect of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) on the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of Tetraselmis chuii microalgae during the pyrolysis

Abstract

The catalytic effect of TiO2 during the pyrolysis of Tetraselmis chuii (T.chuii) microalgae was studied using a thermal analyzer. Pyrolysis experiment was occupied on the sample that was a mixture of 10 mg microalgae and 5% TiO2 and the result was compared with microalgae and microalgae with 3% TiO2. The presence of 5% TiO2 into the microalgae affected decreasing the initial and final temperatures of degradation by approximately 17 °C (at Stage 2) and 35 °C (at Stage 3) respectively. The activation energy that was evaluated using the Coats-Redfern method for Stage 2 indicated the decreasing value of around 18.39 kJ/mol and increases in Stage 3 by 3.27 kJ/mol. The overall results indicated that addition of TiO2 has significantly influenced the conversion process of T. chuii microalgae.