The thermal analysis of milkweed and several individual commercial samples of .similar chemical composition has been carried out. By combining a two-stage thermal process. (pyrolysis-combustion) with TG-FTIR, it has been possible to identify the major organic volatile products during pyrolysis and to correlate gas evolution with the decomposition of the individual components (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) of the floss. During pyrolysis, acetic acid, formic acid and methanol are formed 1n addition to CO2, and H2O. The data also show that pyrolytic decomposition of the three chemical constituents of milkweed occur without any apparent synergistic interaction. The combustion of milkweed produced CO2 and H2O, as expected, but the removal of the waxy coating from the fibers results in an increased susceptibility to combustion. The coating displays no effect on the process of pyrolysis.
","abstract_html":"<p>The thermal analysis of milkweed and several individual commercial samples of .similar chemical composition has been carried out. By combining a two-stage thermal process. (pyrolysis-combustion) with TG-FTIR, it has been possible to identify the major organic volatile products during pyrolysis and to correlate gas evolution with the decomposition of the individual components (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) of the floss. During pyrolysis, acetic acid, formic acid and methanol are formed 1n addition to CO2<em>, </em>and H2O<em>. </em>The data also show that pyrolytic decomposition of the three chemical constituents of milkweed occur without any apparent synergistic interaction. The combustion of milkweed produced CO2<em> </em>and H2O, as expected, but the removal of the waxy coating from the fibers results in an increased susceptibility to combustion. The coating displays no effect on the process of pyrolysis.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gu, Pei"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Mater of Science","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Department of Chemistry","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Rita K. Hessley (Director), WeiPing Pan, John Reasoner"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1992,"date_issued":"1992-04-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1992-04-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:52Z","subjects":["Chemistry"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1556","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Rita K. Hessley (Director), WeiPing Pan, John Reasoner"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gu, Pei"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Chemistry"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Mater of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Chemistry"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1556"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The thermal analysis of milkweed and several individual commercial samples of .similar chemical composition has been carried out. By combining a two-stage thermal process. (pyrolysis-combustion) with TG-FTIR, it has been possible to identify the major organic volatile products during pyrolysis and to correlate gas evolution with the decomposition of the individual components (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) of the floss. During pyrolysis, acetic acid, formic acid and methanol are formed 1n addition to CO2, and H2O. The data also show that pyrolytic decomposition of the three chemical constituents of milkweed occur without any apparent synergistic interaction. The combustion of milkweed produced CO2 and H2O, as expected, but the removal of the waxy coating from the fibers results in an increased susceptibility to combustion. The coating displays no effect on the process of pyrolysis.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Thermal Analysis of Milkweed Floss Using TG/FTIR"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Rita K. Hessley (Director), WeiPing Pan, John Reasoner"],"dc:creator":["Gu, Pei"],"dc:description.abstract":["The thermal analysis of milkweed and several individual commercial samples of .similar chemical composition has been carried out. By combining a two-stage thermal process. (pyrolysis-combustion) with TG-FTIR, it has been possible to identify the major organic volatile products during pyrolysis and to correlate gas evolution with the decomposition of the individual components (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) of the floss. During pyrolysis, acetic acid, formic acid and methanol are formed 1n addition to CO2, and H2O. The data also show that pyrolytic decomposition of the three chemical constituents of milkweed occur without any apparent synergistic interaction. The combustion of milkweed produced CO2 and H2O, as expected, but the removal of the waxy coating from the fibers results in an increased susceptibility to combustion. The coating displays no effect on the process of pyrolysis.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1556"],"dc:subject":["Chemistry"],"dc:title":["Thermal Analysis of Milkweed Floss Using TG/FTIR"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Chemistry"],"thesis:degree_name":["Mater of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:52Z"}