Comparative combustion study of some polymers with oil shale

In this study, the combustion kinetics of Goynuk oil shale, polyethylene, polyethylene glycol (PEG), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyvinyl chloride, and polymer-oil shale blends were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. Experiments were conducted at non-isothermal conditions with a heating rate of 5 K min(-1) in the 298-1173 K temperature interval under air atmosphere. An increase in the total conversion values with increasing mass percentage of polymers of the blends was observed. Differential thermogravimetric data were analyzed by an Arrhenius model. Effects of blending ratio of oil shale and polymer on the combustion kinetics were investigated. Kinetic parameters were determined and the results were discussed. An increase was observed in the frequency factor and activation energy values as the weight percentage of polymer in blends were increased. The minimum activation energy, 16.1 kJ mol(-1), was calculated for PEG/oil shale with 2/3 blending ratio.