Catalytic conversion: gravimetric (G) and thermogravimetric
analysis (TGA) methods
The results of cellulose conversion calculated by gravimetric and
TGA method and are presented in Table 1.
Each experiment was repeated multiple times varying between
2 and 5 repetitions. Using the gravimetric approach, the conversion
(G) was calculated as the average value. The normalized average
deviation (G) of each experiment was obtained and the uncertainty
was then determined considering the highest value obtained
[21]. For TGAthe uncertainty was determined from the propagation
ofthe uncertainty obtained in the linear regression ofthe analytical
curve. The highest value was considered for all experiments [21].
Conversion results shown in Table 1 are in agreement with
the trend of expected values for the catalytic conversion. Generally,
conversion increases with an increase in the reaction time
with conversion increasing even more so with higher temperature.
Moreover, the M-W2C/C catalyst was expected to exhibit better
catalytic performance compared to M/C with the conversion values
confirming this expectation.
In general, the TGA method shows higher conversion values
when compared to the gravimetric method. However, considering
the associated errors, both methods gave similar conversion
trends and values. It is important to consider that both methods
are not free from experimental errors which can affect the conversion
value. In the case of the gravimetric method, there are several