Abstract

This paper details fundamental work on alkali metals (sodium, potassium, and cesium) to determine if group chemistry has an effect upon the catalytic process observed in SRC Willow thermal degradation, thereby gaining mechanistic insight into the process. Work detailing both pyrolysis and combustion (TGA), and combustion under flame conditions is presented. DTG profiles and first order reaction kinetics comparing the pyrolysis and combustion of the three alkali metal impregnated, raw, and demineralized samples revealed a strong and similar catalytic effect that all three alkali metals have on these reactions. Combustion under flame conditions again showed a stark contrast between the strongly catalyzed degradation of samples with alkali metal presence, and the uncatalyzed degradation of mineral-free samples. As with the low heating rate results, at flame conditions, no observable difference between samples impregnated with varous group 1 metals is noted. These findings imply that a similar thermal degredation mechanisim is followed when this woody biomass contains any alkali metals.