Emission of volatile aldehydes and ketones from wood pellets under controlled conditions

Ann Occup Hyg. 2009 Nov;53(8):797-805. doi: 10.1093/annhyg/mep058. Epub 2009 Aug 10.

Abstract

Different qualities of biofuel pellets were made from pine and spruce sawdust according to an industrial experimental design. The fatty/resin acid compositions were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for both newly produced pellets and those after 2 and 4 weeks of storage. The aldehydes/ketones compositions were determined by high performance liquid chromatography at 0, 2, and 4 weeks. The designs were analyzed for the response variables: total fatty/resin acids and total aldehydes/ketones. The design showed a strong correlation between the pine fraction in the pellets and the fatty/resin acid content but the influence decreased over storage time. The amount of fatty/resin acids decreased approximately 40% during 4 weeks. The influence of drying temperature on the aldehyde/ketone emission of fresh pellets was also shown. The amounts of emitted aldehydes/ketones generally decreased by 45% during storage as a consequence of fatty/resin acid oxidation. The matrices of individual concentrations were subjected to multivariate data analysis. This showed clustering of the different experimental runs and demonstrated the important mechanism of fatty/resin acid conversion.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants / analysis*
  • Aldehydes / analysis*
  • Biofuels / analysis
  • Humidity
  • Ketones / analysis*
  • Temperature
  • Wood / chemistry*

Substances

  • Air Pollutants
  • Aldehydes
  • Biofuels
  • Ketones