A comprehensive thermo-kinetics devolatilization analysis of waste motor oil: Thermal degradation kinetics, kinetic model, thermodynamic analysis, and ANN

The improper management of waste motor oil (WMO) disturbs the ecology. However, WMO is a potential feedstock for alternate energy production employing the pyrolysis technique. The present study presents the feasibility of WMO pyrolysis in sustainable alternate energy generation. Five different models, namely Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and Starink, Coats-Redfern, consecutive reaction model (CRM), and distributed activation energy model (DAEM), were applied for the assessment of the thermo-kinetic parameters of WMO pyrolysis using the thermogravimetric analysis at three discrete heating rates (5, 10, and 40 ºC min−1). The thermogravimetric experimental data of WMO pyrolysis is validated by the artificial neural network (ANN). The average activation energy of WMO for FWO (140.7 kJ mol−1), Starink (143.6 kJ mol−1), Coats-Redfern (116.08 kJ mol−1), CRM (123.22 kJ mol−1), and DAEM (110 kJ mol−1) are lower than conventional organic wastes and hence beneficial for the co-pyrolysis process.