Heat flow and specific heat capacity in the dehydration stage of biomasses pyrolysis through thermal analyses

This study aims to investigate the influence of the moisture of energy cane and coconut fiber on heat flow and specific heat capacity in the dehydration stage from the pyrolysis process. The experiments were carried out in a simultaneous thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry analyzer using a heating rate of 20 K/min in an inert atmosphereThree decomposition stages were identified: dehydration (marked by an expressive endothermic peak), pyrolysis, and carbonization). From the analyses of the water contributions, it was observed that the heat flow from the heat capacity of remaining water (Qwc) is negligible compared to the heat flow from the water evaporation (Qwe), for both biomasses. Also, we calculated the heat flow from the heat capacity (Qb) and the experimental specific heat capacity (cp,b) of biomasses such as 686-2371 J/kg K and 1076-2113 J/kg K, respectively. Then, for the dehydration stage, third- and fourth-order theoretical polynomial equations have been proposed to predict the heat required for the biomass heating.