Heat transfer controlled pyrolysis kinetics of a biomass slab, rod or sphere

A theory for deriving the pyrolysis rate of a single infinite slab, infinit e cylinder or sphere in a constant temperature furnace is suggested. In ana logy with the shrinking-core model a pyrolysis propagation front velocity i s defined. The velocity is thereafter used in a compartment-model approach for deriving a set of ordinary differential equations for solving the bum-o ff over time. A comparison with experimental and published data is also mad e. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.