ORGANIC EMISSIONS FROM COMBUSTION OF PINE, PLYWOOD, AND PARTICLEBOARD

Furnace out emissions of benzene, toluene, and formaldehyde during the combustion of wood were measured using a well-controlled plug flow re search combustor which simulates an updraft fixed grate combustor. The woods examined were southern pine, southern pine plywood, and souther n pine particleboard. The range of conditions for combustion were resi dence times between 0.5 and 3.0 s, exit temperatures between 300 and 9 50 degrees C, equivalence ratios ((fuel/air)(act)(fuel/ air)(stoic)) b etween 0.1 and 0.3. For residence time of 1 s, benzene, toluene, and f ormaldehyde emissions were very low to undetected at exit temperatures above 650 degrees C, but at temperatures less 650 degrees C emissions increased to as high as 2 ppmv for benzene, 0.4 ppmv for toluene, and 40 ppmv for formaldehyde. Furnace out emissions and emission factors were correlated to CO concentration. For plywood the CO had to increas e to 4000 ppmv (corrected to 7% O-2) before emission levels increased rapidly, and for pine the CO had to increase to 2000 ppmv (corrected t o 7% O-2) before emission levels increased rapidly.