Journal of Applied Polymer Science · 1980 · 89 citations · 0 references
EngineeringMechanical EngineeringChemistryReaction OrderPolymersDerivative ThermogravimetryPolymer ProcessingVarious MethodsPlastic DegradationThermodynamicsPolymer ChemistryThermoanalytical MethodMaterials SciencePolymer StabilityPolymer AnalysisComparative StudyPolymer SciencePolymer CharacterizationPolystyrene DegradationActivation EnergyChemical KineticsHydrothermal Processing
Various methods of thermogravimetric analysis were compared in case of polystyrene degradation. The reaction order, the activation energy and the preexponential factor were evaluated from common TG curves experimentally obtained. In most cases a 5-mg sample of polystyrene with 110,000 molecular weight was decomposed at heating rate of 10°C/min. The reaction was found under this experimental condition to be of first order with activation energy of 61.0 kcal/mole, though there were slight differences depending on the analytical methods used.