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A kinetic analysis of the thermal-oxidative decomposition of expandable polystyrene

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Abstract

The kinetics of the thermal-oxidative decomposition of expandable polystyrene (EPS) was studied by a conventional thermogravimetric technique in various concentrations of oxygen from 0 to 21%. A kinetic model that accounts for the effects of oxygen concentration was proposed to describe the thermal-oxidative decomposition of EPS. The thermogravimetric analysis curve and its derivative have been analyzed by using differential and integral methods with modification of the Friedman and Coats-Redfern methods. The activation energy, the pre-exponential factor, and the reaction order for unreacted material and oxygen concentration have been determined. When oxygen was present, the activation energy was reduced significantly.

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Correspondence to Hee Taik Kim.

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Jun, HC., Oh, S.C., Lee, H.P. et al. A kinetic analysis of the thermal-oxidative decomposition of expandable polystyrene. Korean J. Chem. Eng. 23, 761–766 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02705924

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02705924

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