Kinetic modeling of polyurethane pyrolysis using non-isothermal thermogravimetric analysis

• The pyrolysis of polyurethane is modeled.
• A parallel independent reactions model was proposed for polyurethane pyrolysis.
• Kinetic parameters of the model was evaluated by non-linear fitting method.
• Comparison with results published in the literature was conducted.

The pyrolysis of polyurethane was studied by dynamic thermogravimetry analysis (TGA). The studied polyurethane is used as organic binder in casting process to make sand cores and molds. A semi-empirical model is presented that can be used to describe polyurethane pyrolysis occurring during TGA experiments. This model assumes that the polyurethane is pyrolysed by several parallel independent reactions. The kinetic parameters of polyurethane pyrolysis were evaluated by fitting the model to the experimental data obtained by TGA over a wide variety of heating rates. A nonlinear least-squares optimization method is employed in the fitting procedure. A hybrid objectives based simultaneously on the mass (TG) and mass loss rate (DTG) curves has been used in the least-squares method. The values of the activation energy obtained by the non-linear fitting were then recalculated by the methods of Kissinger and Friedmand. Furthermore, the parameters obtained in the present paper were then compared with those reported in the literature.