Pyrolysis of microalgae residues - A kinetic study

Pyrolysis of residues from the oil extraction process of two types of microalgae, Chlamydomonas (C. sp. JSC4) and Chlorella sorokiniana (C. Sorokiniana CY1) was studied by means of a thermogravimetric analyzer. Five pseudo-components (hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin, lipid and protein) model with n = 1 or n # 1 was assumed for a kinetic analysis of the collected pyrolysis data. The model with n # 1 resulted in a slightly better fit quality and reasonable kinetic parameters. The calculated activation energy of hemicellulose, cellulose, lignin, lipid, protein was 115.12-117.12 kJ/mol, 181.67-198.30 kJ/mol, 61.74-62.75 kJ/mol, 104.93-114.14 kJ/mol and 90.75-99.31 kJ/mol, respectively, for C. sp. JSC4; and 113.12-117.12 kJ/mol, 218.73-28.79 kJ/mol, 64.77-66.39 kJ/mol, 131.97-143.63 kJ/mol and 108.03-118.13 kJ/mol, respectively, for C. Sorokiniana CY1.