Thermal degradation of rice straw fibers: Global kinetic modeling with isothermal thermogravimetric analysis

Thermal degradation behavior of rice straw fibers under isothermal heating conditions was studied. The data were modeled by considering the fiber as one pseudo-component using the Malek method. The kinetic model with reaction order n > 1 [i.e., RO(n > 1) = (1 - alpha)(n)] described the degradation process of rice straw fiber fairly well in a temperature range up to about 265 degrees C. The kinetic parameters used include activation energy of 116 +/- 5 kJ/mol, reaction order of 3.0 +/- 0.2, and logarithmic value of pre-exponential factor [ln A] of 18.7 +/- 0.1 ln s(-1). The model obtained can be used to aid the development of straw fiber-engineering plastic composites. (c) 2012 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.