Pyrolysis of Oil Extracted Safflower Seeds: Product Evaluation, Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies

Abstract

In this study, pyrolysis kinetics and thermodynamic parameters of Safflower residues (SR) obtained from oil extraction were investigated by using TG/DSC-FTIR and py-GC/MS. Thermal analysis was performed from ambient temperature to 750 degrees C under a nitrogen atmosphere. The first-order reaction kinetics model was applied to thermal analysis data to determine apparent kinetic parameters. Activation energy and pre-exponential factor were calculated as 76.60 kJ.mol(-1) and 1.89x10(6) min(-1), respectively. The thermodynamic parameters such as the change in Gibb's free energy, the difference in enthalpy and the entropy change were calculated to be 201.36 kJ mol(-1), 71.79 kJ mol(-1), and -0.196 kJ mol(-1), respectively. TG/FTIR analysis revealed that CO2, C6H5OH, and C=C functional group as the main pyrolysis gas products. According to Py-GC/MS results of SR, the presence of high energy-containing compounds among the pyrolysis products was proved. All these results show that SR is suitable for pyrolysis to produce biofuel and/or chemicals.