Pyrolysis of solid fuels: Thermochemical behaviour, kinetics and compensation effect

The paper presents the pyrolysis behaviour of eleven different rank solid fuels, carried out using thermogravimetry (TG). Obtained experimental curves were compared with profiles determined using the Single First Order Reaction (SFOR) model and three different approaches of Distributed Activation Energy Model (DAEM). The aim of this work was to develop different models dedicated to pyrolysis, in particular further investigate the interrelation between the activation energy and the pre-exponential factor, its impact on the results quality and attribution with the fuel properties and pyrolysis mechanism. Obtained results showed that the compensation effect, often noted for SFOR, has also occurred for DAEM. Furthermore, analysis indicated an existence of a relationship between the characteristic temperature Tiso (and ln(kiso)) and fuel properties. Observed interrelation may be attributed to the change in reaction mechanism.