Pyrolysis kinetics of hazelnut husk using thermogravimetric analysis.

This study aims at investigating physicochemical properties and pyrolysis kinetics of hazelnut husk, an abundant agricultural waste in Turkey. The physicochemical properties were determined by bomb calorimeter, elemental analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy. Physicochemical analysis results showed that hazelnut husk has a high calorimetric value and high volatile matter content. Pyrolysis experiments were carried out in a thermogravimetric analyzer under inert conditions and operated at different heating rates (5, 10, 20°C/min). Three different kinetic models, the iso-conversional Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) and Ozawa-Flynn-Wall (OFW) models and Coats-Redfern method were applied on TGA data of hazelnut husk to calculate the kinetic parameters including activation energy, pre-exponential factor and reaction order. Simulation of hazelnut husk pyrolysis using data obtained from TGA analysis showed good agreement with experimental data. Combining with physicochemical properties, it was concluded that this biomass can become useful source of energy or chemicals.