Influence of the moisture content on the composition of the liquid smoke produced in the pyrolysis process of Fagus sylvatica L. wood

The pyrolysis of several samples of sawdust of Fagus sylvatica L. wood with different moisture contents was carried out, keeping all other smoke generation parameters constant. However, parameters such as smoke production length and maximum temperature reached were affected by the moisture content of the sample and varied in the different pyrolytic runs. The acidity and the composition of the liquid smokes obtained were determined, this latter by means of gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. The acidity and composition of the liquid smoke produced were affected not-only by the moisture content of the sawdust sample but also by the smoke generation length and by the temperature of the process. The highest yields in components were produced from samples with low moisture content that underwent-a short pyrolytic process. Some compounds, with important properties from an organoleptic and preservative point of view, were not generated from samples with high moisture content. Equations that closely relate yield of the total components or of groups of components or of individual components with parameters such as moisture content, length of the process, and temperature were obtained; these equations predict yield data of liquid smoke components with a satisfactory degree of approximation.