Thermogravimetric analysis and kinetic characterization of lipid-extracted Tetraselmis suecica and Chlorella sp.

In this study, the pyrolysis behavior of two lipid-extracted microalgal biomasses, specifically freshwater microalgae Chlorella sp. and marine microalgae Tetraselmis suecica, was examined using a thermogravimetric analyzer. The study assessed the effects of different heating rates (5, 10, and 15 degrees C/min) on the devolatilization stage and determined the kinetics using the Flyn-Wall-Ozawa and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose methods. The activation energy and pre-exponential factor values for T. suecica were slightly lower compared with Chlorella sp. and other types of microalgal and lignocellulose biomasses. The results obtained from this study provide useful information for designing a pyrolytic processing system using lipid-extracted microalgal biomass as a feedstock. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.