Thermogravimetric and kinetic analysis of thermal decomposition characteristics of low-lipid microalgae

The thermal decomposition behavior of two microalgae, Chlorella pyrenoidosa (CP) and Spirulina platensis (SP), were investigated on a thermogravimetric analyzer under non-isothermal conditions. Iso-conversional Vyazovkin approach was used to calculate the kinetic parameters, and the universal integral method was applied to evaluate the most probable mechanisms for thermal degradation of the two feedstocks. The differential equations deduced from the models were compared with experimental data. For the range of conversion fraction investigated (20-80%), the thermal decomposition process of CP could be described by the reaction order model (F3), which can be calculated by the integral equation of G(α) = [(1 - α)(-2) - 1]/2. And the apparent activation energy was in the range of 58.85-114.5 kJ/mol. As for SP, it can be described by the reaction order model (F2), which can be calculated by the integral equation of G(α) = (1 - α)(-1) - 1, and the range of apparent activation energy was 74.35-140.1 kJ/mol.