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Abstract
In this study, pyrolysis of two types of biomass (macadamia nut shell: MNS and coconut shell: CNS), a synthetic plastic (polyethylene terephthalate: PET) and blends of the biomass with PET were investigated. The thermal degradation kinetics and the carbon structure evolution of the char residues were monitored as a function of heating rates, blending ratios and temperatures. Effects of heating rate and blending ratio on the degradation kinetics were studied in a large-scale thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) reactor. The char structure was characterized by a combination of solid state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and XRD. The formation and evolution of radical concentration in the char were investigated using solid state 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Effects of carbon structure and microtexture on reactivity of the char was investigated by CO2 reactivity.