Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable polymer and is mainly used in the textile and food packaging fields. The aim of this work is to build knowledge on the kinetics of the pyrolysis of PLA with the help of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) using four model-free methods, namely Friedman, Flynn–Wall–Qzawa (FWO), Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), and Starink. Additionally, two model-fitting methods (the Coats–Redfern and Criado methods) were applied. TGA data at 5, 10, 20, and 30 K/min heating rates were collected. The obtained activation energies of the pyrolysis of PLA at different conversions by the model-free models were in good agreement and the average values were 97, 109, 104, and 104 kJ/mol for Friedman, FWO, KAS, and Starink, respectively. The Criado model was used together with the Coats–Redfern model to identify the most appropriate reaction mechanism. As per this work, the best controlling reaction mechanism of the PLA pyrolysis can be expressed by the geometrical contraction model (R2).

Methanol steam reforming (MSR) is a promising technology for on-board hydrogen production in fuel cell applications. Although traditional Cu-based catalysts demonstrate high catalytic activity and selectivity towards CO₂ relative to CO, which is produced via methanol decomposition, they suffer from poor thermal stability and rapid coke formation. Nickel phosphides have been widely investigated in recent years for many different catalytic reactions owing to their remarkable activity and selectivity, as well as their low cost. In this work, we present a mechanistic study of methanol decomposition and MSR pathways on Ni₂P using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. DFT-predicted enthalpic barriers indicate that MSR may compete with methanol decomposition on Ni₂P, in contrast to other transition metals (e.g., Pt, Pd, and Co) which primarily decompose methanol into CO. The formaldehyde intermediate (CH₂O*) can react with co-adsorbed hydroxyl (OH*) from water dissociation to produce H₂COOH* which then undergoes subsequent dehydrogenation steps to produce CO₂ via H₂COOH*→ HCOOH* → HCOO* → CO₂. We also examined the conversion of CO into CO₂ via the water–gas shift (WGS) reaction, but we ruled out this pathway because it exhibits high activation barriers on Ni₂P. These findings suggest that Ni₂P is a promising new catalyst for MSR.