Pyrolytic kinetics and thermodynamic analyses of date seeds at different heating rates using the Coats-Redfern method

Pyrolytic kinetic and thermodynamic analyses of date seeds were performed using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at different heating rates (10, 20, 30, and 40 degrees C/min) ranging from 20 degrees C to 900 degrees C. The curves of TGA and differential thermogravimetric analysis (DTG) showed that pyrolysis of date seeds consists of three areas of mass loss: dehydration, devolatilistion and char formation. The temperature range of each of these regions varies with heating rate. The Coats-Redfern method was used to perform the kinetic and thermodynamic evaluations for the devolatilisation region at different heating rates. The Zhuravlev diffusion equation proved to be the best-fit model with the highest regression coefficient values in the devolatilistion region. The average activation energy value for the devolatilistion region was estimated to be 186 kJ/mol. The kinetic data were used to determine the thermodynamic parameters (Delta H, Delta G, and Delta S). The data presented here are useful for describing date seeds as a significant raw material for pyrolysis, designing pyrolysis reactors, and understanding the mechanism of date seed pyrolysis in detail.

Automated summary

Pyrolytic kinetic and thermodynamic analyses of date seeds were conducted using TGA. The results showed that the pyrolysis process consists of three stages: dehydration, devolatilisation, and char formation. The kinetic evaluation was performed using the Coats-Redfern method, and the best-fit model was the Zhuravlev diffusion equation. The data obtained are valuable for understanding the pyrolysis mechanism of date seeds and can be used in the design of pyrolysis reactors.