Materials Produced from Plant Biomass. Part I: Evaluation of Thermal Stability and Pyrolysis of Wood

This paper compares the thermal stability of the sawdust of different wood species, an important factor in producing reinforced polymers. The compositions of two wood species, Pinus taeda and Eucalyptus grandis, were determined to evaluate the influence of the main wood components on the thermal stability of this material. The two species were submitted to thermogravimetric analysis at different heating rates to calculate the activation energy (E(a)) using the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and Kissinger methods. The results suggest that larger quantities of holocellulose and lignin associated with lower extractive contents give the wood greater thermal stability. The E(a) values calculated for the two species were in the range of 146-165 kJ.mol(-1). Evaluation of the activation energy values offers a simplified means to better understand the thermal decomposition of the sawdust of different wood species used in developing composites.