Mass Regression in the Pyrolysis of Pine Wood Macrocylinders in a Nitrogen Atmosphere—An Experimental Study

Abstract

This paper describes a simple oven experiment to study the pyrolysis of thick wood specimens in an inert atmosphere. The results to date, presented here, deal with some interesting characteristics of the rate and extent of pyrolysis of pine-wood cylinders as influenced by the oven temperature and the specimen thickness. A complete energy and mass conservation analysis requires extensive measurements of additional factors such as (a) the oven wall temperature, (b) the specimen surface emissivity, arid (d) the thermophysical and chemical properties of the solid. The need for these measurements is demonstrated' in the discussion of the rate data presented here.