Kinetics of Poplar Short Rotation Coppice Obtained from Thermogravimetric and Drop Tube Furnace Experiments

Abstract

This article concentrates on the kinetics of poplar short rotation coppice obtained from thermogravimetric and drop tube furnace (DTF) experiments. Three poplar samples were studied, specifically, clone AF8 from two different plantations, one located in Italy (AF8-I) and another located in Portugal (AF8-P), and clone AF2 from a plantation located in Portugal. Initially, the combustion behavior of the three clones was evaluated by thermogravimetry. For the devolatilization zone, the thermogravimetric experiments yielded apparent activation energies of 109.7, 117.7, and 118.6 kJ mol–1 for clones AF8-I, AF8-P, and AF2, respectively. For the char oxidation stage, the apparent activation energies were 267.4, 252.0, and 264.3 kJ mol–1 for clones AF8-I, AF8-P, and AF2, respectively. Subsequently, the combustion behavior of the clone AF8-I was examined in a DTF. The data reported includes gas temperature and particle burnout measured along the DTF for five wall temperatures (900, 950, 1000, 1050, and 1100 °C). Th...