DTA and TGA Techniques (RRO) Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and Thermo Gravimetric Anélysis (TGA) techniques are of great significance in fuel technology. DTA and TGA is not only used in identifying various materials but also has been successfully used to follow reactions by heating the reactions gradually to elevated temperatures ‘Thermogravimetric Analysis ‘Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is an analytical technique used to determine a material’s thermal stability and its fraction of volatile components by monitoring the weight change that occurs as a specimen is heated. The measurement is normally carried out in air or in an inert atmosphere, such as Helium or Argon, and the weight is recorded as a function of increasing temperature, Sometimes, the measurement is performed in a lean oxygen atmosphere (1 to 5% O2 in N2 or He) to slow down oxidation. In addition to weight changes, some instruments also record the temperature difference between the specimen and one or more reference pans (differential thermal analysis, or DTA) or the heat flow into the specimen pan compared to that of the reference pan (differential scanning calorimetry, or DSC). The latter can be used to monitor the energy released or absorbed via chemical reactions during the heating process(Erhan, 2007). Materials analyzed by TGA include polymers, plastics, composites, laminates, adhesives, food, costings, pharmaceuticals, organic materials, rubber, petroleum, chemicals, explosives and biological samples (PerkinElmer, 2010). Differential Thermal Anelysis Differential Thermal Anelysis (DTA) is the analytical technique in which temperature differential between the sample and a non-reactive reference material is monitored while the two substances are subjected to the identical heating program. The thermal curve is a plot of thetemperature difference as a function of the temperature of one of the two substances. Changes in the sample, either exothermic or endothermic, can be detected relative to the inert reference (Bhadeshia, 2002). Thus, a DTA curve provides data on the transformations that have occurred, as glass transitions, crystallization, melting and sublimation. In DTA the temperature of the test material is measured relative to that of an adjacent inert material, A thermocouple imbedded in the test piece and another in the inert material are connected so that any differential temperatures generated during the heating cycle are graphically recorded as a series of peaks on a moving chart. The amount of heat involved and temperature at which these changes take place are characteristic of individual elements or compounds Moreover, the amount of a substance present in a composite sample will be related to the area under the peaks in the graph, and this amount can be determined by comparing the area of a characteris! peak with areas from a series of standard samples analyzed under identical conditions. The DTA technique is widely used for identifying minerals and mineral mixtures (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015).Methodology TGA-DTG TGA measurements were carried out with a Shimadzu DTG-60 apparatus. Raw and torrefied com stover were analysed simultaneously with sample weights of 6419 mg and 4.468mg and a particle size of less than 180um. Analysis was carried out with an air atmosphere Alumina crucibles loaded with biomass particles were placed inside the TG apparatus where the weight was constantly measured. The temperature was varied from 25 to 900C with a heating rate of 10C/min. A temperature program consisting of a dynamic heating period followed by an isothermal heating period was applied, After the desired temperature was reached, the apparatus was allowed to cool. The TGA and DTA graphs were then analyzed for the determination of reaction kinetics of raw and torrefied com stover sample, DESRIGGRTSEIEARE Heating value Heating value is also called as Heat of Combustion or the Celorific Value. This is the amount of heating energy released by the combustion by the combustion of a unit value of fuels(ElSolh, 2011). [tis the heat released when a known quantity of fuel is bumed under specific conditions. Definition oftetins Compressive Strength Compressive Strength or the crushing resistance is the maximum crushing load a pellet otr briquette can withstand before cracking or breaking (Kaliyan, et al, 2009) BRI General Factorial Experimenal Design‘Thermogravimetric Analysis Results ‘The plots for the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) for the raw and com stover using air atmosphere are shown in Figs(4)30\and4)30 respectively. The TGA plot for the raw com stover suggests three distinct stages of weight loss. The first stage (25 to 115°C) which about 10% of the sample is loss can be attributed to the loss of water and volatilization of light molecules. The second stage contributes the largest weight loss of the com stover which is around 56%. This stage is the combustion stage which ranged from 215 to 340C and has a very high rate of weight loss (>10%I°C) which may resulted from the oxidation of a substantial part of the raw com stover. The final stage is classified as residual combustion stage that contributes an average weight loss of 30% which may be classified as residual loss. This residual loss is a result from the incomplete combustion of the preceding stage. ‘The TGA plot for the torrefied com stover on the other hand suggests only two distinct stages of weight loss. The first stage of weight loss corresponds to the drying stage or where water and other light molecules volatilize. This initial stage ranges only from 25 to 100°C and weight loss of only 5% which are smaller compared to the corresponding drying stage of the raw com stover. This suggests that the torrefied com stover contains lesser amount of moisture and volatile matter than its raw counterpart as a result of the torrefaction process. The second stage is the combustion stage which has wide temperature range of 215 to 500°C and contributes the majority of weight loss which is about 85% The temperature range in this stage is wider compared to the second and third stage of the raw com stover. However, the weight loss of this stage is almost identical to the two Later stages of the raw com stover when combined. The plot doesn’t show residual combustion of the torrefied com stover. This suggests that the torrefiedcom stover is easier to combust completely than the raw com stover given the same atmosphere and flowrate In an air atmosphere, the TGA plots (Fig. 4) clearly suggested that there were three stages of ‘weight loss. The first stage in the oxidizing atmosphere ranged from 25 to 900C. The loss of water and volatilization of light molecules may have contributed to weight loss in this stage. The weight loss between the end of the first stage (133C) and the start of the next stage (215C) was much less (779%).The second stage of weight loss ranged from 215 to 340C. In this region, there was a very large weight loss (56%) at a very high rate (>10% C-1) as compared with the amount (6%) and rate of weight loss (GOEI%ICI) in the torrefied com stover, which may have been as a result of the oxidation of a substantial part of the com stover. Separation between the second and third stages in the oxidizing atmosphere was very clear. During the third stage, which ranged from 340 to 480C, there was an average amount of weight loss (30%). The weight loss in the third stage was higher as compared with weight loss during the third stage in torrefied cir stover sample Also, the third stage in the raw com stover samples had a wide temperature range as compared with the third stage in the torrefied com stover. This suggests thet the third stage is different with respect to the samples analysed. The trend of the DTA plot of com stover in an air atmosphere was very similar to the DTA plot of rice husk in an oxygen atmosphere performed by Mansaray and Ghaly [5] This suggested that the amount of oxygen in the air atmosphere in our experiment was sufficient for oxidation of a small amount of com stover particles(S—10 mg). However, the weight loss in the third stage of com stover was less than that of rice husk. Thismay have been due to thes maller amount of lignin in com stover (10-13%) as compared withrice husk (20%)