TG-FTIR Analysis on Evaporation, Decomposition and Combustion Characteristics of Bio-Oil

Abstract

Thermogravimetry - Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (TG-FTIR) technique was applied to achieve thermal evaporation, decomposition and combustion of bio-oil and on-line analysis of the formed products. The experiments were performed under the N2/O2 atmosphere with different O2 contents using a bio-oil sample derived from rice husk. According to the TG results, the thermogravimetric process included three stages, the evaporation of light volatiles, the decomposition of heavy components, and the combustion of the char residues. The kinetic calculation revealed that the activation energy values of the evaporation and decomposition stages would not be greatly affected by the O2 content, while the activation energy values of the combustion stages would decrease as the rising of the O2 content. Moreover, the FTIR results indicated that the major products in the evaporation stage were the water and organic volatile compounds. Whereas the products in the combustion stage were mainly CO2 and H2O, together with a little CO.