Pyrolysis characteristics of corn straw samples (corn stalks skins, corn stalks cores, corn bracts and corn leaves) was performed using thermogravimetric analysis Three heating rates (20, 50 and 100 k min-1) were applied with a final temperature of 900°C. The maximum pyrolysis rates increased with the heating rate increasing and the temperature at the peak pyrolysis rate also increased. The activation energy and the temperature interval of pyrolysis for these samples had only slightly increasing at different heating rates. The one-step model was used to obtain the pre-exponential and the activation energy. Through calculating, we obtain the mass loss ratio curve. The three models have similar results. The one-step model is simpler and suitable for the simulation of the mass loss ratio curve.
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