Thermal degradation and kinetic study of sawdusts and walnut shells via thermal analysis

The present work deals with thermal degradation and kinetic study of chosen types of biomass in order to evaluate their usefulness as a supplementary fuel in the iron ore sintering process. The thermal stability and degradation of sawdusts and walnut shells were studied by TG/DTG coupled with differential thermal analysis (DTA) under air from 40 to 700 A degrees C. The kinetic experiments were performed at different heating rates 5, 10, 15 A degrees C min(-1). From the thermogravimetric experiments of each sample, it was found that the mass loss characteristics under air atmosphere showed similar combustion profiles. However, the thermal degradation temperature of walnut shell was higher than sawdust samples and the residual mass was lowest, what indicated that the higher combustion was found at the walnut shell sample.