Influence of Cellulose Characteristics on Pyrolysis Suitability

Abstract

Cellulose is the most abundant component of biomass and the one that requires the most activation energy (Ea) for pyrolysis. In this study, the dependence of Ea on the intrinsic cellulose characteristics, such as the degree of polymerization (DP), crystallinity, and crystal size, was studied in different cellulose samples, including samples from Eucalyptus globulus, Ulmus minor, Linun usitatissimum, Olea europaea, Robinia pseudoacacia, and Populus alba. Then, to describe the pyrolytic degradation of cellulose, the Ozawa–Flynn–Wall kinetic method was the most appropriate among the isoconversional models studied. An acceptable quadratic relationship of R2 > 0.9 between the Ea values of the different cellulose samples with their corresponding DP, crystallinity index, and crystal size values was found. Therefore, low crystallinity and low-to-medium crystal size values are desired to obtain lower Ea values for cellulose pyrolysis. On the other hand, DP did not present a clear effect on Ea in the studied DP range.

Processing and properties of jute (Corchorus olitorius L.) fibres and their sustainable composite materials: a review

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that the crystallinity index (CI) and cross-linking of cellulose have an inuence on the thermal behavior of composites. [642][643][644] Sinha and Rout 645 reported that chemical surface modication increases the thermal stability of PFRCs. It was reported that the thermal resistance of JFRCs shows better stability than pure polymers and other bres.…”

Evaluation of Selected Cellulose Macromolecular Properties after Its Chemical Treatment Using Size Exclusion Chromatography

“…The result of cellulose degradation is an increased proportion of low molecular weight fractions and a decrease in average DP and polydispersity (PD) [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Moreover, DP, as well as crystallinity and crystallite size, have an influence on the thermal stability of cellulose [ 22 , 23 ].…”