Thermokinetic models for simultaneous reactions: a comparative study

Two dynamical thermokinetic systems for simultaneous reaction models of polymer decomposition are compared. In the independent-parallel model, the common reactant is divided explicitly between the reactions, and in the competitive model the entire reactant mass is available to both reactions. Elementary bifurcation analyses show that the two models give quite different predictions of the thermal behaviour of simultaneous reaction systems. The properties of derivative thermogravimetric curves for competitive and independent thermokinetic models are discussed, with reference to experimental data for the thermal decomposition of cellulose.