Study of experimental and theoretical procedures when using thermogravimetric analysis to determine kinetic parameters of carbon black oxidation

Abstract

Combustion of carbon black (CB) in the crucible of a thermobalance is controlled by both carbon reactivity and oxygen transport from the oxidizing flux to the surface of the bed and within the porous bed. The kinetic constant of combustion has been determined using a fixed-bed reactor in which CB combustion is mainly under kinetic control. Then, modelling of oxygen transport in the thermobalance allowed determining the oxygen diffusivity within the CB pile. Fickian diffusion is a good approximate value of the diffusion coefficient for modelling of internal oxygen transport. The effects of the initial sample mass and of the sample containment on the initial combustion rate have been investigated. The effectiveness factor of the bed was calculated for different experimental conditions. Advices to correctly extract a kinetic constant from thermogravimetric experiments are given. According to the required precision, an experimental procedure is proposed. Limitations to oxygen transport within the bed may be ignored. They can be minimized by the use of an inert material to remove the stagnant atmosphere between the surface of the bed and the mouth of the crucible. It appears mandatory to account for oxygen transport limitations within the CB pile. It can be assumed that the sample temperature (not known) during reaction is the regulation temperature. Thermal effects are also minimized by use of the inert material. A 30–50 mg sample mass seems to be optimal for determination of the kinetic parameters.