Oxygen Bomb Calorimetry was used to determine the gross heat in the combustion of invasive species; Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera), and yaupon (Ilex vomitoria). The effect of particle size on this value was examined to determine which gave the most precise results. Mesh sizes from 10-150+ were investigated. In addition to a combustion analysis of both dormant and growing season samples, the relative spontaneous ignition temperature (RSIT) was determined using a Perkin Elmer Simultaneous Thermal Analyzer (STA). There is currently no standard method used in calculating RSIT making it difficult to compare. A refinement of the current technique will include investigating the effect of changing the heating rate and the particle size of the sample to develop a more consistent method.

Refinement of the RSIT method

255th National Meeting (2018)

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