Chen Mengying, Yu Hongxiao, Wang Kun, Yao Binbin, Zhang Donghai, Cui Tongxu, Yue Yong, Huo Wenwen, Ma Hongjing, Song Shihao, Zhang Shuming
China Tobacco Shandong Industrial Co. Ltd., Jinan, 250010, PR China.
China Tobacco Shandong Industrial Co. Ltd., Jinan, 250010, PR China.
Carbohydr Res. 2025 Sep 24;558:109680. doi: 10.1016/j.carres.2025.109680.
Thermal decomposition of carbohydrates plays a critical role in various technological fields, including biomass energy conversion, thermal food processing, and the synthesis of functional carbon materials. This study investigated the thermal decomposition of carbohydrates at a high heating rate in both inert (N) and oxidative (air) atmospheres. The analysis was performed using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) coupled with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). This approach enables the simultaneous detection of small-molecule gases and organic volatiles. Each carbohydrate exhibited the same number of pyrolysis stages in both N and air. The temperature corresponding to the maximum mass loss rate observed in air was consistently lower than or equal to that in N. The presence of oxygen promoted pyrolysis reactions, resulting in minimal residual carbon in air. Infrared absorption peaks indicated that the main pyrolysis products of carbohydrates appeared at 400 °C. CO was the dominant gaseous product in both atmospheres, with significantly higher yields in air. Other major small-molecule gases evolved included HO, CO, and CH. GC/MS analysis identified furans, aldehydes, and ketones as the major organic volatiles, with minor amounts of acids, esters, dehydrated carbohydrates, benzene, phenol, and crotonaldehyde. While furfural was the dominant product in N, both furfural and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural were identified as the primary products in air. This research investigated the thermal decomposition behavior and characterized the pyrolysis products from carbohydrates at a high heating rate.
