Quantitative flash pyrolysis Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of organic materials Original Research Article

Thermal degradation is a common technique used to investigate the nature of organic materials. However, existing methods for the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) identification and quantification of volatile products from the thermal degradation of organic materials are limited to the technique of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)–FTIR, which utilizes relatively low heating rates. However, the thermal degradation products of organic materials are known to vary depending on the rate of heating, with lower heating rates of biomass associated with increased yields of solid char and decreased yields of volatiles, as well as a greater opportunity for secondary reactions between the residue and the pyrolysis products. Hence, it is difficult to relate the products of organic matter thermally degraded at <100 °C min−1 in TGA to the products of flash pyrolysis at up to 20,000 °C s−1. We have developed and applied a novel methodology for quantitative flash pyrolysis–FTIR analysis of the volatile pyrolysis products of organic-rich materials. Calibration curves of water, carbon dioxide and methane have been constructed and used to determine absolute volatile release from wood (ash, Lat. Fraxinus). This technique is quicker and simpler than comparable pyrolysis–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry techniques, and avoids errors associated with the lower rates of temperature increase associated with techniques such as thermogravimetric analysis.