Pyrolysis of Polylactic Acid (PLA) (Energy required)

[tunkor]

Hey guys, I want to know some info about the decomposition of PLA.

I want to know how much energy does it take to decompose PLA in pyrolysis. Is the activation energy (J/mol) the energy required to decompose PLA? Or are there more factors which require energy?

What kind of rest products will the PLA leave behind if it totally decomposes? (Pretty quickly from 300K to 1700K). If I understand correctly the PLA will first leave lots of hydrocarbons due to random C - C bonds breaking at a lower temperature, but what would roughly be the final rest products at 1700K?

Is there a way for me to calculate how much gas will be produced from each gram of PLA decomposing at this temperature (1700K)? I will have the PLA inside of a closed of space and would like to calculate (roughly) how much the pressure increase will be.

I hope you guys are able to help me. Thanks in advance!