Thermal Behavior of Sweet Potato Starch by Non-Isothermal Thermogravimetric Analysis

In this study, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) methods were used to study the structure, the thermal degradation kinetics, and the thermogram of sweet potato starch, respectively. The thermal decomposition kinetics of sweet potato starch was examined within different heating rates in a nitrogen atmosphere. Different models of kinetic analysis were used to calculate the activation energies using the thermogravimetric data of the thermal degradation process. The activation energies got from Kissinger, Flynn–Wall–Ozawa, and Šatava–Šesták models were 173.85, 174.87, and 174.34 kJ·mol(−1), respectively. Thermogravimetry–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) analysis showed that the main pyrolysis products included water, carbon dioxide, and methane.