A Model for Non-Oxidative and Oxidative Pyrolysis of Corrugated Cardboard

Abstract

Corrugated cardboard is widely used in warehouse facilities. The flammable nature of the material, coupled with its ubiquitous presence makes the material a serious fire hazard. As a result, there is interest in developing a universal pyrolysis model that can accurately predict the burning characteristics of the cardboard. Pyrolysis of a double-wall corrugated cardboard was studied in anaerobic and oxygen containing atmospheres using thermogravimetric analysis and a newly developed Controlled Atmosphere Pyrolysis Apparatus (CAPA). The effects of moisture were also examined under non-oxidative conditions. A previously developed cardboard pyrolysis model was demonstrated to reproduce anaerobic gasification. This model was extended to include oxygen diffusion, oxidation reactions, and modified evaporation reactions. The modified model was validated against the mass loss rate data collected in the CAPA at 10.5 vol.% of oxygen and at 2.2 vol.% oxygen with moisturized samples under incident radiant heat fluxes of 20, 40, and 60 kW m-2.