Combustion Kinetics of Polyethylene Terephthalate

Abstract

The combustion kinetics of poly ethylene terephthalate) (PET) was studied by the dynamic model which accounts for the thermal decomposition of polymer at any time. The kinetic analysis was performed by a conventional nonisothermal thermogravimetric (TG) technique at several heating rates between 10 and 40 K/min in air atmosphere. The thermal decomposition of PET in air atmosphere was found to be a complex process composed of at least two stages for which kinetic values can be calculated. The combustion kinetic analysis of PET gave apparent activation energy for the first stage of 257.3∼269.9kJ/mol, with a value of 140.5∼213.8 kJ/mol for the second stage. To verify the effectiveness of the kinetic analysis method used in this work, the kinetic analysis results were compared with those of various analytical methods. The kinetic parameters were also compared with values of the pyrolysis of PET in nitrogen atmosphere.