Kinetic Analysis of the Gas-Phase Pyrolysis of Carbohydrates

Cellulose-derived pyrolysis products and selected primary products, 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (5-HMF), levoglucosan and hydroxyacetaldehyde (HAA) were used as starting materials for kinetic studies of gas-phase pyrolysis by using flow tube reactors and product detection with molecular beam mass spectrometry (MBMS). Multivariate data analysis was used to identify major product classes for lumped product kinetic analysis. The methodology employed in this work was verified using ethyl allyl ether (EAE) pyrolysis. Two-step sequential models based on lumped primary, secondary and tertiary products were developed for levoglucosan, 5-HMF and cellulose derived pyrolysis products. A one-step model was developed for HAA. Reaction rates and Arrhenius parameters are presented based on these empirical models.