Fundamental Pyrolysis Studies

Progress on the direct mass spectrometric sampling of pyrolysis products from wood and its constituents is described for the period from June 1982 to February 1983. A brief summary and references to detailed reports, of the qualitative demonstration of our approach to the study of the separated processes of primary and secondary pyrolysis is presented. Improvements and additions to the pyrolysis and data acquisition systems are discussed and typical results shown. Chief of these are a heated-grid pyrolysis system for controlled primary pyrolysis and a sheathed flame arrangement for secondary cracking studies. Qualitative results of the secondary cracking of cellulose, lignin, and wood are shown as are comparisons with the literature for the pyrolysis spectra of cellulose, lignin, and levoglucosan. 'Fingerprints' for a number of materials are shown, with spectra taken under carefully controlled conditions so that sensitivity calibrations for different compounds, now being determined, can be applied