Volatile products obtained from the thermal degradation of polystyrene (PS), carried out in tubes sealed under vacuum, were identified by GC-MS and quantitatively determined. The reaction temperature was in the range 360-420 °C. The thermal degradation of PS followed first-order kinetics in the initial part of the reaction. A lumped procedure was employed for the overall kinetic interpretation, and the kinetic parameters of the reaction were evaluated by an optimization procedure. The lumped kinetics has been rationalized accordingly to a free-radical mechanism.
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