Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, cilt.32, sa.11, ss.2573-2579, 1993 (Scopus)
Pyrolysis kinetics of almond and hazelnut shells and beech wood were carried out using a thermogravimetric technique. Experiments were repeated for different final pyrolysis temperatures ranging from 300 to 850 °C. Approximately 90% of the pyrolysis reactions were completed up to 450 °C. The initial values of the activation energy of pyrolysis reaction were found to be around 22 kcal/mol for shells of almond and hazelnut. On the other hand, initial activation energy of beech wood pyrolysis was found as 29.4 kcal/mol. Results indicated that a first-order decomposition in terms of volatile content of the reactant showed good agreement with the data only at the initial stages of the reaction. The reaction rate constant was found to decrease with reaction extent due to the changes in the chemical and physical structure of the solid. Among several models proposed, a model which predicted an increase of activation energy with reaction extent gave the best agreement with the experimental data. © 1993, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.