QUANTIFICATION OF MAJOR COMPONENTS EMITTED FROM SMOLDERING COMBUSTION OF WOOD

The major condensible products (-45-degrees-C) from smoldering combustion of ponderosa pine sapwood have been identified and quantified. Methylene chloride extracts of the condensate, as well as nonextracted condensate, were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Non-condensed gases were analyzed by gas chromatography/flame ionization detector (GC/FID). About 83-93% of the carbon consumed in the fires has been accounted for. Variability in yields of compounds between individual fires ranged from 3 to 39% for most components, which indicates the fires and the analytical procedures are reproducible. The major products in the condensate (as percentage by weight of wood consumed) are acetic acid (0.44%), methanol (0.43%), vinyl acetate (0.3%), pyruvic aldehyde (0.12%) and acetol (0.2%). Vinyl acetate does not appear to have been reported as a major component of wood smoke. The other major products are known components of wood smoke. The molar ratios of emitted condensible products to carbon monoxide have been calculated and may form a future basis for assessing the exposure of humans to these products in large-scale biomass fires.