On the estimation of kinetic parameters of organic matters using linearization methods
Kinetic parameters obtained by various thermal analysis methods are widely used in petroleum and other industries. These methods are restricted to relatively simple models that consist of a single equation and have usually uneven sensitivity on the uncertainty of the experimental data due to logarithmic conversions. An important consideration affecting the success of the linearization methods is that the proper selection of the beginning and the end of the linear section. A new method was implemented in advanced, portable and user-friendly thermal analysis software that does not suffer the typical shortcomings of the linearization processes. The developed software can accurately identify different reaction regions by means of a numerical technique. The uses and the advantages of the developed software and the methodology were evaluated by analyzing reaction kinetics of an asphaltite and a coal sample with single and multiple reaction regions. Using a least-squares minimization technique the software can be used to match experimental data with three different kinetic models (Arrhenius, Coats and Redfern, and Ingraham and Marrier) for determining the activation energies of samples. It was observed that there is a good relation between the correlation coefficient and the success of the estimation. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
reaction region kinetic model least squares