KINETICS AND THERMAL DEGRADATION OF POWDER-FREE LABORATORY EXAMINATION GLOVES BY THERMOGRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS AT 308ºC AND 408ºC
NASROLLAH HAMIDI *
Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC 29117, USA
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
A sample of laboratory safety gloves (LG) was thermalized in six consecutive thermal scans and isotherms without a catalyst. The kinetics of thermolysis of LG, was studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at two consecutive temperatures: 308°C, and 408°C as well as a thermal scan between these two temperatures. Several methods were used to evaluate the kinetics parameters related to the decomposition of LG at 308°C and 408°C isotherms. The results of the study indicated that many zeroth order reactions were occurred, simultaneously. The TGA data fit better in a surface decomposition model since the initial reaction could be described as a first order decomposition, however, as thermalizes advanced many simultaneous zeroth order reactions were observed. The estimated activation energy of thermalizes (Ea) from thermal scan was slightly less than C-Cl standard bond energy.
Keywords: Kinetics, thermogravimetric analysis of powder free examination gloves, examination gloves, latex gloves, pyrolysis of gloves, neoprene, thermalizes