Pyrolysis of oil extracted safflower seeds: Product evaluation, kinetic and thermodynamic studies

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 °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 1.89x10⁶ 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 CC 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.