Study of the Characteristics and Kinetics of Oil Sand Pyrolysis

The pyrolysis experiments on Buton oil sand, Indonesia, were carried out using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at different heating rates of 15, 20, 25, and 30 degrees C min(-1). The kinetic parameters (apparent activation energy E and frequency factor A) of oil sand pyrolysis were determined using the Friedman procedure. It is found that the apparent activation energy E ranges from 13 to 85 kJ mol(-1), corresponding to the conversion of 10-90%. The values of activation energy increase gradually with the increasing conversion. At the higher heating rate, the pyrolysis reaction is performed at the higher temperature region. In addition, it is also shown that the plot of In A versus E for oil sand pyrolysis becomes a linear line.