Thermal decomposition of Syagrus romanzoffiana palm fibers: Thermodynamic and kinetic studies using the coats-redfern method

Abstract

This work uses thermogravimetric analysis to perform the thermokinetics and thermodynamic studies of Syagrus romanzoffiana fibers (SRFs). In a nitrogen environment, SRFs were heated non-isothermally between 25 and 800 °C at four heating rates of 5 °C/min, 10 °C/min, 15 °C/min, and 20 °C/min. According to thermogravimetric examination, the pyrolysis of SRFs occurred in three steps. The second stage has had its kinetic and thermodynamic characteristics determined. The low-temperature stable components were decomposed at temperatures ranging from 218 to 376 °C, 218–391 °C, 218–394 °C, and 218–398 °C at heating rates of 5 °C/min, 10 °C/min, 15 °C/min, and 20 °C/min, respectively. The Coats-Redfern method was applied to twenty-one distinct kinetic models representing four key solid-phase reaction processes. The diffusion model using the Zhuravlev equation is the best-fitted model, having the most outstanding correlation coefficient values (R2 > 0.99) for all heating rates. Heating rates of 5, 10, 15, and 20 °C/min resulted in activation energy values of 114.02, 118.77, 119.44, and 113.89 kJ/mol, respectively. Thermodynamic characteristics (ΔH, ΔG, and ΔS) were computed using kinetic parameters. The data presented here helps evaluate SRFs as a possible biomass renewable energy source for building reactors and generating chemicals.