Cyanide contaminates water from biomass burning: Chemosphere, 2003.
Also see: Tables:Wood smoke Weights. (as pdf, size13KB) (be sure to see references for tables.)
Chemicals listed here are only the tip of the iceberg - combustion variables lead to hundreds if not thousands of chemical combinations. Some are sweet smelling vanilla and others are known to be the most toxic chemicals on earth. Wood also carries mold spores, some are able to be cultured from wood ashe. (molds are listed at the bottom of the Table from above)
Cyanide contaminates water from biomass burning: Chemosphere, 2003.
Wood Burning Creates Dioxin, Radioactive Particles and Releases Stored Lead
Lead: produced from burning 2.2 pounds of wood = 0.1mg to 3 mg.
"Burning 1 kilogram of wood produced as much as 160 micrograms of total dioxins. This result was obtained when various specimens of wood were burned in different stoves. Soot was collected and analyzed by well-designed and documented procedures. Tetrachlorinated, hexachlorinated, heptachlorinated, octachlorinated dioxins were present. The isomers of the dioxins were separated and quantitated. The highly chlorinated dioxins were the major components. In the soot from a series of experiments, their total content ranged from 10 to 167 mg/kg of fuel. The total yields of tetrachlorinated dioxins (TCDDs) ranged from 0.1 to 7.8 mg/kg of fuel.""With the exception of some very low California readings, all measurements of wood ash with fallout-cesium exceeded - some by 100 times or more - the levels of radioactive cesium that may be released from nuclear plants (about 100 picocuries per kilogram of sludge). Wood ash-cesium levels were especially high in the Northeast" [Science News, 1991]
This information was published in 1993 EPA Report, A Summary of the Emissions Characterization and Noncancer Respiratory Effects of Wood Smoke, EPA-453/R-93-036 It can be ordered from the EPA at (919)-541-5344.
Species g/kg wood Carbon Monoxide 80-370 Methane 14-25 VOCs (C2-C7) 7-27 Aldehydes 0.6-5.4 Formaldehyde 0.1-0.7 Acrolein 0.02-0.1 Propionaldehyde 0.1-0.3 Butryaldehyde 0.01-1.7 Acetaldehyde 0.03-0.6 Furfural 0.2-1.6 1.6 Substituted Furans 0.15-1.7 Benzene 0.6-4.0 Alkyl Benzenes 1-6 Toluene 0.15-1.0 Acetic Acid 1.8-2.4 Formic Acid 0.06-0.08 Nitrogen Oxides (NO,NO2) 0.2-0.9 Sulfur Dioxide 0.16-0.24 Methyl chloride 0.01-0.04 Napthalene 0.24-1.6 Substituted Napthalenes 0.3-2.1 Oxygenated Monoaromatics 1 - 7 Guaiacol (and denvatives) 0.4-1.6 Phenol (and denvatives) 0.2-0.8 Syringol (and derivatives) 0.7-2.7 Catechol (and denvatives) 0.2-0.8 Total Particle Mass 7-30 Particulate Organic Carbon 2-20 Oxygenated PAHs 0.15-1 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) Fluorene 4x10-5 - 1.7x10-2 Phenanthrene 2x10-5 - 3.4x10-2 Anthracene 5x10-5 - 2.1x10-5 Methylanthracenes 7xl0-5 - 8x10-5 Fluoranthene 7xl0-4- 4.2xl0-2 Pyrene 8x10-4 - 3.1x10-2 Benzo(a)anthracene 4x10-4 - 2x10-3 Chrysene 5x104- 1x10-2 Benzofluoranthenes 6x10-4- 5x10-3 Benzo(e)pyrene 2x104 - 4x10-3 Benzo(a)pyrene 3x104- 5x10-3 Perylene 5x10-5 - 3x10-3 Ideno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene 2xl0-4- 1.3x10-2 Benz(ghi)perylene 3x10-5- 1.lx10-2 Coronene 8x10-4- 3x10-3 Dibenzo(a,h)pyrene 3x104- lx10-3 Retene 7x10-3 - 3x10-2 Dibenz(a,h)anthracene 2x10-5 - 2xl0-3 Trace Elements Na 3x10-3 - 1.8xl0-2 Mg 2x10-4 - 3x10-3 Al 1x10-4 - 2.4x10-2 Si 3x10-4 - 3.1x10-2 S 1x10-3 - 2.9x10-2 Cl 7x10-4 - 2.1xl0-2 K 3x10-3 - 8.6x10-2 Ca 9xl0-4 - 1.8x10-2 Ti 4x10-5 - 3x10-3 V 2xl0-5 - 4x10-3 Cr 2x10-5 - 3x10-3 Mn 7xl0-5 - 4x10-3 Fe 3x10-4 - 5x10-3 Ni lxl0-6 - lx10-3 Cu 2x10-4 - 9x10-4 Zn 7xl0-4 - 8x10-3 Br 7x10-5 - 9x10-4 Pb lx10-4 - 3x10-3 Particulate Elemental 0.3 - 5 Carbon Normal alkanes (C24-C30) 1x10-3 - 6x10-3 Cyclic di-and triterpenoids Dehydroabietic acid 0.01 - 0.05 Isopimaric acid 0.02 - 0.10 Lupenone 2x10-3 - 8x10-3 Friedelin 4x10-6 - 2x10-5 Chlorinated dioxins 1xl0-5 - 4x10-5 Particulate Acidity . 7x10-3 - 7x10-2
1 Some species are grouped into general classes as indicated by
italics.
2 To estimate the weight percentage in the exhaust, divide the
g/kg value by 80. This assumes that there are 7.3 kg combustion
air per kg of wood. Major species not listed here include carbon
dioxide and water vapor (about 12 and 7 weight percent respectively
under the assumed conditions.
3 At ambient conditions; V = vapor, P = particulate, and VIP =
vapor and/or particulate (i.e., semi-volatile).
4 DeAngelis (1980)
5 OMNI (1988)
6 Lipari (1984), Values for fireplaces.
7 Edye et al (1991). smoldering conditions; other substituted
furans include 2-furanmethanol, 2 acetylfuran, 5 methyl-2furaldehyde,
and benzofuran.
8 Value estimated for pine from Edye et al (1991) from reported
yield relative to guaiacol, from guaiacol values of Hawthorne
(1989) and assuming particulate organic carbon is 50% of total
particle mass.
9 Steiber et al (1992), values computed assuming a range of 3-20
g of total extractable, speciated mass per kg wood.
10 Khalil (1983)
11 Hawthorne (1989), values for syringol for hardwood fuel; see
also Hawthorne (1988).
12 Core (1989), DeAngelis (1980), Kalman and Larson (1987).
13 From one or more of the following studies: Cooke (1981), Truesdale
(1984), Alfheirn et al (1984), Zeedijk (1986), Core (1989), Kalman
and Larson (1987); assuming a range of 7 to 30 grams of particulate
mass per kg wood when values were reported in grams per gram of
particulate mass. Similar assumptions apply to references 14,15
and references 17-19.
14 Core (1989), Kalman and Larson (1987)
15 Watson (1979), Core (1989), Kalman and Larson (1987)
16 Rau (1989), Core (1989)
17 Core (1989)
18 Standley and Simoneit (1990); Dehydroabietic acid values for
pine smoke, lupenone and isopimaric acid values for alder smoke
and friedlin values for oaf: soot.
19 Nestrick and Lamparski (1982), from particulate condensed on
flue pipes; includes TCDDs, HCDDs, H7CDDs and OCDDS.
20 Burnet et al (1986); one gram of acid = one equivalent of acid
needed to reach a pH of 5.6 in extract solution.