Thermal decomposition kinetics of aluminum sulfate hydrate

The kinetics of individual stages of thermal decomposition of Al₂(SO₄)₃·18H₂O were studied by TG method. It is found that Al₂(SO₄)₃·18H₂O decomposes to Al₂O₃ in four major stages, all of endothermic. Some of these major stages are formed by sub-stages. The first three major stages are dehydration reactions in which two, ten and six moles water are lost, respectively. The last major stage is sulfate decomposition. In this study the kinetic parameter values of these major and sub-stages were calculated by integral and differential methods. The alterations of activation energies with respect to the decomposition ratio and to the method were investigated.