Heating rate effect on the DSC kinetics of oil shales

This research was aimed to investigate the combustion and kinetics of oil shale samples (Mengen and Himmetoğlu) by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Experiments were performed in air atmosphere up to 600°C at five different heating rates. The DSC curves clearly demonstrate distinct reaction regions in the oil shale samples studied. Reaction intervals, peak and burn-out temperatures of the oil shale samples are also determined. Arrhenius kinetic method was used to analyze the DSC data and it was observed that the activation energies of the samples are varied in the range of 22.4–127.3 kJ mol⁻¹ depending on the oil shale type and heating rate.