Brt. Simoneit et al., LIGNIN PYROLYSIS PRODUCTS, LIGNANS, AND RESIN ACIDS AS SPECIFIC TRACERS OF PLANT CLASSES IN EMISSIONS FROM BIOMASS COMBUSTION, Environmental science & technology, 27(12), 1993, pp. 2533-2541
Biomass smoke aerosols contain thermally unaltered and partially alter
ed biomarker compounds from major vegetation taxa. These compounds ran
ge from C-8 to C31 and include phytosterols, lignans, phenolic product
s from lignin, and diterpenoids from resins. Certain of the higher mol
ecular weight biomarkers are vaporized from the parent plant material
and subsequently condense unaltered into the particle phase. Other com
pounds undergo pyrolytic alteration and possibly dimerization. In both
cases it is possible to assign many of these compounds to the plant t
axa of the unburned fuel. The diterpenoids are good indicators for smo
ke from burning of gymnosperm wood. The relative distribution of the O
H/OCH3 substituent patterns on the phenolic products indicates the pla
nt class of the biomass that was burned. Application of these relation
ships to the interpretation of ambient smoke aerosols may permit furth
er evaluation of the sources that contribute to regional biomass burni
ng.