Determination and comparison of kinetic parameters of low density biomass fuels

Abstract

Biomass has great potential as a clean, renewable feedstock for producing modern energy carriers. Low density biomass, such as rice husk, sawdust, bamboo dust, etc., can provide a continuous supply of liquid and gaseous fuels through thermochemical conversion processes. In the present study, kinetics of the thermal decomposition of three biomasses such as rice husk, sawdust, and bamboo dust were evaluated under air atmosphere from ambient temperature to 1000 °C at a heating rate of 10 °C min−1. Two distinct reaction zones were observed for all the three biomasses. From the thermogravimetric (TG) and differential TG curves, the activation energies, pre-exponential factors, and order of reaction were determined for both the reaction zones. Experimental results were validated numerically and these results are found to be very close to the numerical results. As observed, thermal decomposition rates in the first reaction zone were found to be significantly higher than those in the second reaction zone.