Hydropyrolysis: Implications for Radiocarbon Pretreatment and Characterization of Black Carbon

Charcoal is the result of natural and anthropogenic burning events, when biomass is exposed to elevated temperatures under conditions of restricted oxygen. This process produces a range of materials, collectively known as pyrogenic carbon, the most inert fraction of which is known as black carbon (B...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiocarbon 2010, Vol.52 (3), p.1336-1350
Main Authors: Ascough, P L, Bird, M I, Meredith, W, Wood, R E, Snape, C E, Brock, F, Higham, T F G, Large, D J, Apperley, D C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Sample Preparation
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Charcoal is the result of natural and anthropogenic burning events, when biomass is exposed to elevated temperatures under conditions of restricted oxygen. This process produces a range of materials, collectively known as pyrogenic carbon, the most inert fraction of which is known as black carbon (BC). BC degrades extremely slowly and is resistant to diagenetic alteration involving the addition of exogenous carbon, making it a useful target substance for radiocarbon dating particularly of more ancient samples, where contamination issues are critical. We present results of tests using a new method for the quantification and isolation of BC, known as hydropyrolysis (hypy). Results show controlled reductive removal of non-BC organic components in charcoal samples, including lignocellulosic and humic material. The process is reproducible and rapid, making hypy a promising new approach not only for isolation of purified BC for 14C measurement but also in quantification of different labile and resistant sample C fractions.
ISSN:0033-8222
1945-5755
DOI:10.1017/S0033822200046427