TGA Studies of Hevea Brasiliensis Leaf Biomass for Energy Extraction

Hevea brasiliensis (Rubber Tree), a deciduous tree with annual leaf fall, is the primary source of natural rubber. The dead leaves of the tree have a huge potential to be used as a biomass for harnessing renewable energy through thermochemical route. The present study focuses on the thermal behaviour of Hevea brasiliensis leaves using thermogravimetric analysis in an inert atmosphere to understand the kinetic parameters of the pyrolysis reactions, considering the heating rates from 50C min−1 to 300C min−1 and temperature from 300C to 9000C. Physicochemical characterisations including proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, bomb calorimetry and FT-IR spectroscopy were conducted to understand the potential of the biomass for energy extraction. The kinetic parameters were evaluated using four iso-conversional methods namely Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS), Ozawa-Flynn-Wall (OFW), Starink and Friedman. The activation energy of the biomass was 201.64 kJ mol−1, 201.30 kJ mol−1, 194.49 kJ mol−1, and 223.32 kJ mol−1 for KAS, OFW, Starink, and Friedman method respectively. The results show that the waste dead leaf of Hevea brasiliensis is a potential material to be considered for energy extraction through thermochemical conversion including pyrolysis and gasification.