Kinetic Analysis of Phoenix Dactylifera and Phyllanthus Emblica Seeds Through Thermogravimetric Analyser: Determination of Activation Energy

Kinetic analysis for the pyrolysis of Phoenix Dactylifera (PD) and Phyllanthus Emblica (PE) seeds, widely found nutritional fruits, was studied through the thermogravimetric analysis with different rates of heating at 10, 20 and 30 °C/min with an N2 atmosphere. Proximate analysis was done to find the suitability of the seeds for the production of biofuel. The KAS (Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose) kinetic approach was applied to thermogravimetric information of Phoenix Dactylifera (PD) and Phyllanthus Emblica (PE) seeds, to calculate the activation energy. Activation energies found through the KAS method were calculated to be 111.935 and 157.272 kJ/mol respectively for PD and PE seeds. Experimental results obtained through the kinetic modelling and the proximate analyses revealed the kinetic parameter determined through KAS model-free isoconversional method which is in line with other comparable biomass feedstock used in the past research works. Additionally, it was also found that the selected seeds contain less moisture (1.08 and 2.78%) with more volatile matter content (84.47% and 81.46%) respectively for PD and PE seeds, prerequisites for the selection of seeds for biofuel production. Thus, as promising are the results of the primary investigations, the Phoenix Dactylifera (PD) and Phyllanthus Emblica (PE) seeds can definitely be further considered for being utilized as sources for alternate biofuel production.