Kinetic analysis of DSC and thermogravimetric data on combustion of lignite

Thermal analysis increasingly being used to obtain kinetic data relating to sample decomposition. This work involves a comparative study of several methods used to analyse DSC and TG/DTG data obtained on the oxidation of Beypazari lignite. A general computer program was developed and the methods are compared with regard to their accuracy and the ease of interpretation of the kinetics of thermal decomposition. For this study, the ratio method was regarded as the preferred method, because it permits the estimation of reaction order, activation energy and Arrhenius constant simultaneously from a single experiment.The experimental part of this research was supported in part by NATO-SFS Project TU-Energy II. The authors express their appreciation to the NATO-SFS program for providing financial support for this project.