A comparative study of thermal decomposition kinetics of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin

Abstract

In this work, decomposition behaviors of cellulose, xylan (representative hemicellulose subtype), and lignin have been compared using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermogravimetry (DTG). The TGA data were also used to perform kinetic analysis using non-isothermal isoconversional methodology (Friedman’s method). The values of average activation energy of decomposition of cellulose, xylan, and lignin were calculated as 137.80 kJ/mol, 202.74 kJ/mol, and 151.55 kJ/mol respectively. The pre-exponential factor was calculated via Kissinger’s equation. The thermodynamic significance of kinetic analysis has also been extended here. This study can help in understanding the heterogeneity in the pyrolysis behavior of the whole biomass by elucidating the decomposition properties of the individual components.