Analysis and removal of air pollutants from scorched wood

Abstract

In the after-fire restoration of the buildings belonging to the culture heritage, the use of salvaged scorched wood elements is desirable but often leading to the long-term malodorous, irritating, or unhealthy emissions. To reduce them while preserving the authenticity as much as possible, the micro-abrasive cleaning method was tested on samples from a burned-down historical wooden building. Volatile compounds in the headspace of the samples were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. The chromatograms from above the scorched wood before cleaning showed a number of volatile products, mostly typical for wood degradation. After the removal of ca 2 mm layer of the scorched wood, the profile of volatiles was almost identical to that above the intact sample, and as reported for neat wood. The results of our study demonstrate how the authenticity of wood elements in buildings restored after fire can be increased without compromising the air quality.