Thermal degradation kinetics of a lignin particle-reinforced phenolic foam

In the present work, the thermal degradation kinetics of a phenolic (PF) and lignin particle-reinforced phenolic (LRPF) foam and the lignin used as the reinforcement (LR) were studied. The activation energies of the degradation processes were obtained using a discrete distributed activation energy model (discrete DAEM) and the Vyazovkin model-free kinetic (MFK) method. The discrete DAEM was validated by comparing the predicted values with the data obtained at 8 °C min−1. Heating ramps of 6 and 12 °C min−1 were used to calculate the kinetic parameters through the model. The effect of the reinforcement on the kinetics of the LRPF was studied by comparison with the results obtained for the PF. For reactions with non-zero mass fractions, the activation energies of the PF were in the range between 79.9 and 177.6 kJ mol−1, and the activation energy for the LRPF ranged from 91 to 187 kJ mol−1. For the LR, the activation energy values were in a narrower range than for the foams: 150–187 kJ mol−1. The degradation process of the LRPF was modified due to the use of LR: the range of activation energy for LRPF was between the ranges for the PF and LR. The activation energy dependence on conversion was also calculated using the Vyazovkin method and compared with the DAEM results; no compensation effect for the kinetic parameters was found.