Thermal Decomposition Study of Isolated Lignin Using Temperature Modulated TGA

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Abstract
Temperature modulated TGA (MTGA) was utilized to study the kinetics of lignin pyrolysis. Three industrial lignin preparations were investigated: softwood kraft lignin, hardwood kraft lignin, and Alcell lignin. Unlike conventional TGA, MTGA provides apparent activation energy (E a ) distribution curve using a single experimental run in a relatively short experimental time. Under Hi-Res conditions using a dynamic heating rate, the activation energies were higher than those determined using a constant heating rate. Likewise, small sample masses provided higher activation energies than those run with large sample mass. These effects can be eliminated by using a relatively large sample mass, > 10 mg. In this study, we discuss the effect of MTGA conditions on calculating E a distribution curves for lignin pyrolysis.