Critical analysis of non-isothermal kinetics of poultry litter pyrolysis

Abstract

Poultry litter is a waste from poultry industry that has been used for bioenergy generation and has high potential as feedstock for thermochemical processes, as pyrolysis. Kinetic parameters of poultry litter pyrolysis are paramount for techno-economic analysis of commercial scale processes. Scientific community has shown concern about the suitable application of different methods (model-free/model-fitting) for the determination of kinetic parameters. The application of an unsuitable method may lead to unreliable kinetic parameters. In this study, the performance of model-free methods for the determination of the kinetic parameters of poultry litter pyrolysis was evaluated. The characterization was performed through thermogravimetric analysis. Were applied the methods of Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa and Vyazovkin. The model-free methods were not adequate to describe the kinetics of poultry litter pyrolysis throughout the whole reaction. Therefore, a model-based (five pseudo-components model) method was applied to obtain the kinetic parameters of poultry litter pyrolysis. Such model provided an adequate fit to the experimental data.