Abstract
Thermogravimetry (TG), derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of tobacco and its some major components were carried out in helium atmosphere at a wide range of heating rates. One of the principal objects of the present study is to obtain apparent kinetic parameters useful in predicting the weight loss during the thermal decomposition process of tobacco.
The DTG curves showed that the complex thermal decomposition process of tobacco could be divided into four reaction zones. Assuming that the weight loss in each zone arises from the decomposition of a single solid component following n-th order Arrhenius kinetics, four sets of apparent kinetic parameters were determined from the TG-DTG curves by Kissinger's and Coats-Redfern's kinetic plots. The observed kinetic equations have been found to be very good empirical descriptions of the weight loss during the thermal decomposition process of tobacco.
In addition to kinetic analyses, the general characteristics of the thermal analytical curves of tobacco, as well as the contribution of tobacco components to them, have been discussed.
