Mechanism and kinetic parameters of the thermal decomposition of gibbsite Al(OH)₃ by thermogravimetric analysis

In this study, the mechanism and the kinetic parameters of the thermal decomposition of gibbsite Al(OH)₃ were studied by differential thermogravimetry technique under non-isothermal conditions, between room temperature and 1200 K at heating rates of 5, 10, 15 and 20°C min¯¹. The obtained differential thermogravimetry curves show clearly three distinct peaks. The first peak is due to the partial dehydroxylation of gibbsite. Among the 32 types of differential equations of non-isothermal kinetics, we have found that the most suitable mechanism is (A_{3/2}: g(x)=[-ln(1-x)]^{2/3}) also called Avrami-Erofeev equation of order 2/3. The values of the activation energy E_{A} and of the pre-exponential factor K are 157 kJ mol¯¹ and 7.58×10¹⁵ s¯¹, respectively. The second peak corresponds to the decomposition of gibbsite to boehmite. Decomposition is controlled by the rate of second-order reaction (F₂: g(x)=(1-x)¯¹-1), under the applied conditions. The activation energy E_{A} and pre-exponential factor K correspond to 243 kJ mol¯¹ and 3.73×10²² s¯¹, respectively. The third peak is due to transformation of boehmite to alumina. However the mechanism for such transformation is better described by the 3/2 rate order reaction (F_{3/2}: g(x)=(1-x)^{-1/2}-1). In addition, the values of E_{A} and K were determined to be around 296 kJ mol¯¹ and 1.82×10¹⁹ s¯¹, respectively. The results of differential thermogravimetry were supplemented by the differential thermal analysis. X-ray powder diffraction analysis was carried out for samples of gibbsite treated at different temperatures between 200 and 1200°C in 200°C steps.