## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Thermal Behavior  
The decomposition stages of the paprika samples were investigated in both air (Figure 1) and nitrogen atmospheres (Figure 2) up to 1000 \({}^{\circ}\)C. All paprika samples have a similar thermal behavior in three or four stages under the air atmosphere. In the case of P1, P2 and P5, the DTA curve shows the first stage was characterized by an endothermic effect at 64-73 \({}^{\circ}\)C, accompanied by a mass loss of 3.6-4.6%, attributed to the evaporation of adsorbed water and solvent [17; 18; 19]. The second stage involved the decomposition of volatile compounds and polyphenols characterized by an exothermic effect at 206-214 \({}^{\circ}\)C, accompanied by a mass loss of 29.6-33.7% [17; 18; 19]. The third stage at 324-344 \({}^{\circ}\)C, with a mass loss of 22.1-24.5%, can be attributed to the decomposition of fatty acids and proteins [17; 18; 19]. The fourth stage of decomposition for P1 and P5 corresponds to the degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, with three exothermic effects at 493-489 \({}^{\circ}\)C, 552-560 \({}^{\circ}\)C and 590-606 \({}^{\circ}\)C accompanied by a mass loss of 36.3%. In the case of P2, it was observed only through two exothermic effects at 490 \({}^{\circ}\)C (decomposition of hemicellulose and cellulose) and 618 \({}^{\circ}\)C (decomposition lignin), accompanied by a mass loss of 28.7 and 8.1% [14; 15; 16]. In the case of the P3, P4, P6, P7 and P8 samples, the DTA curve shows, for the first stage, an endothermic effect between 58 and 89% \({}^{\circ}\)C associated with a 2.7-3.6% mass loss on the TG curve. This can be attributed to the drying of paprika powders and the desorption of physically absorbed water molecules. For the second stage, an exothermic effect in the range of 317-346 \({}^{\circ}\)C associated with a mass loss of 50.4-58.2% on the TG curve is attributed to the decomposition of volatile compounds and polyphenols, fatty acids and proteins, and for third stage, an exothermic effect at 478-493 \({}^{\circ}\)C is associated with a mass loss of 33.7-41.5% corresponding to the degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin (only in the case of the P8 sample for the third stage a split peak in two exothermic effects at 446 and 487 \({}^{\circ}\)C can be observed) [17; 18; 19]. The thermal behavior is different for decompositions in a nitrogen atmosphere (Figure 2) compared to an air atmosphere (Figure 1). In all cases, five stages of decomposition can be discerned. The first stage of decomposition is observed by the endothermic effect on the DTA curve, with a mass loss of 2.4-6.7% corresponding to the evaporation of adsorbed water and solvent [17; 18; 19]. The second stage of visible decomposition through the exothermic effect from 210 to 220 \({}^{\circ}\)C, with a mass loss of 20.7-34.4%, can be attributed to the decomposition of volatile compounds and polyphenols [17; 18; 19]. The third stage of decomposition visible through the exothermic effect at around 243-284 \({}^{\circ}\)C, with a mass loss of 19.7-41.7%, is attributed to the decomposition of fatty acids, amino acids and proteins [17; 18; 19]. The fourth stage of decomposition, equivalent to a mass loss of 22.8-37.0%, was observable through exothermic effects at around 364-399 \({}^{\circ}\)C, 440-450 \({}^{\circ}\)C and 483-546 \({}^{\circ}\)C and can be attributed to the degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin [17; 18; 19]. In addition, for samples P1, P3, P4, P5, P7 and P8, an exothermic effect occurs at 881-981 \({}^{\circ}\)C, with a mass loss of around 14%, which occurs only in the nitrogen atmosphere. We infer that it could be attributed to mineral substances with nitrogen content present in the residue. The total mass losses were in the range of 95.0-98.6% in the air atmosphere compared to 80.6-97.2% in the nitrogen atmosphere. The thermal degradation stages of paprika varieties are in agreement with their compositions.