Analysis of combustion residue of the typical plastic carrier and accelerant by flash gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Abstract

A method of fire evidence identification applicable to combustion residue was developed by analyzing the combustion residue of a common plastic carrier and accelerant in a fire field. The method could detect the presence of the accelerant in a fire field, thereby preventing missed identification. The appropriate flash temperature was determined by thermal analysis. The combustion residue of the plastic carrier and accelerant was analyzed by flash technology under the appropriate flash temperature. The application of flash technology was evaluated in terms of a range of different experimental conditions, alongside feasibility and qualitative assessments. We found that the optimum flash evaporation temperature was 300℃ when analyzing the combustion residue corresponding to polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) carrier. Experimental results showed that flash gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Flash GC-MS) extracted the characteristic residual components of the accelerant and could be used to distinguish whether an accelerant was present in a fire or not. The application of flash evaporation technology to fire evidence identification provides a more complete and accurate analysis of the components of combustion residue, eliminating interference factors. Flash GC-MS enriches the modern fire evidence identification toolkit and can support current methods, leading to more accurate and reliable identification.