- Author
- Chen, Y.
- Title
- Experimental Study of the Pyrolysis of Pure and Fire Retarded Cellulose.
- Coporate
- Brown Univ., Providence, RI
- Sponsor
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Report
- NIST GCR 89-566, June 1989, 146 p.
- Distribution
- Available from National Technical Information Service
- Contract
- NIST-GRANT-60NANB8D0851
- Keywords
- cellulose | fire retardants | pyrolysis | flame resistant materials | gasification | sodium hydroxides
- Abstract
- The pyrolysis of pure and fire retarded bulk cellulose samples in a nitrogen atmosphere is studied. Sodium hydroxide is used as the fire retardant. The study is directed toward determining the effects of the solid phase fire retardant on the burning of cellulose. The material property of pure and fire retarded cellulose which most directly affects its burning behavior, the heat of gasifiction, is measured by using a specially designed pyrolyzing chamber. Theoretical results are obtained for a one-dimensional pyrolysis wave propagating into cellulose by using a finite-difference calculation. The experimental results are in qualitative agreement with the computations, but give a lower value for the heat of gasification. The mass fraction of noncombustible volatiles in the total volatile products of pyrolysis, the stoichiometric oxygen/fuel ratio of the combustible volatiles and the heat of combustion per unit mass of combustible volatile are also obtained as experimental results. These data have been obtained because they are needed as imputs in diffusion flame calculations. The experimental data show that sodium hydroxide acts as a catalyst in the pyrolysis of cellulose. Its addition leads to decreases in the heat of gasification and the mass fraction of noncombustible volatiles in the total volatiles, and to increases in the stoichiometric ratio and the heat of combustion of combustible volatiles, thereby has a dual effect on cellulose burning.