ASABE Technical Library - Abstract

Abstract. Mechanism and kinetics of bio-crude thermal decomposition are crucial for the development of thermal upgrading process. Thermogravimetric analysis of bio-crude from hydrothermal liquefaction of Enteromorpha prolifera was performed under non-isothermal conditions at different heating rates (5, 10, 20 or 40 K/min). A two-step reaction mechanism, a volatilization step followed by a thermal reaction step, was proposed based on the experimental results. The most probable reaction model was determined through a universal integral method, and the kinetic parameters were obtained simultaneously. At heating rate of 10 K/min, the volatilization step can be described by a 1-D diffusion model and the thermal reaction step followed apparent first-order reaction kinetics.