A detailed assessment of pyrolysis kinetics of invasive lignocellulosic biomasses (Prosopis juliflora and Lantana camara) by thermogravimetric analysis

Thermogravimetric analysis of two invasive weeds Prosopis juliflora (PJ) and Lantana camara (LC) are carried out by pyrolysis under dynamic conditions (20 to 900 degrees C) at different heating rates 5, 10, 20 and 40 degrees C/min. Gross calorific values of PJ and LC are estimated to 18.2 and 18.92 MJ/kg respectively. Activation energy obtained by FRM, M-FRM, KAS, OFW, STR, NL-INT, NL-DIF methods are 157.56, 151.24, 140.86, 143.39, 140.74, 141.19, 157.59 kJ/mol for PJ and 169.98, 167.67, 149.39, 151.51, 149.23, 149.70, 169.98 kJ/mol for LC respectively. Kinetic compensation effects were well fitted with the experimental data, which provided the value of the pre-exponential factor. To identify the appropriate reaction mechanism, the Popescu and Master-plot methods are employed. Thermodynamic parameters (Delta G, Delta H, and Delta S) are also determined by NL-INT, NL-DIF, and M-FRM methods. Results of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters confirm the suitability of PJ and LC invasive weeds as potential biomasses for pyrolysis process.