Abstract :
The kinetics of olive wood carbonization is investigated by means of isothermal thermogravimetric analysis method. Measurements were carried out in a thermobalance for different fixed temperatures between 498 and 648 K. A two-stage semi-global kinetic model consisting of four sequential steps was proposed to derive kinetic parameters. The olive wood is classified in three pseudo-components. For the first two, similar thermal degradation mechanisms take place in a single reaction step. For the third, the thermal degradation takes place in two consecutive steps. The isothermal conditions allow the kinetic constants (activation energy and pre-exponential factors) to be estimated by means of the analytical solution of the mass conservation equations. An overall good agreement was obtained with activation energy values available in the literature.