Study of thermal decomposition process and the reaction mechanism of the eucalyptus wood

The mass loss of eucalyptus wood was measured against time and temperature at four different heating rates (5, 10, 15, 20 °C/min), in nitrogen environment, through thermogravimetry analysis technique. These measurements revealed that the decomposition of wood samples occurred in three stages (dehydration stage, active stage and passive stage), and the maximum decomposition peak in DTG curve shifted towards higher temperature range with increase in heating rate. In addition, the decomposition kinetic parameters were determined by adopting two thermal kinetic methods viz. Flynn–Wall–Ozawa and modified Coats and Redfern. Further, from the master curves (generated through different values of g(α) and f(α)) and experimental curve obtained using the Criado method, the kinetic mechanism involved in the pyrolysis of the eucalyptus wood was commented.