“COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HYDROCARBANS IN SEMIBURT AND COMPLETE BURNT PARTICALS IN ASH RESIDUE BY USING GC -MS-MS.”

Abstract

The present study is a comprehensive comparative analysis of hydrocarbon profiles in semi-burnt and completely burnt particulates isolated from Five ash residues generated during controlled combustion processes. Utilizing gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS), achieved high-sensitive quantification and characterization of diverse hydrocarbon classes, including aliphatic hydrocarbons (AHCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkylated PAHs (alkyl-PAHs), and oxygenated derivatives. The results revealed compositional differences driven by combustion efficiency, Semi-burnt particulates were significantly enriched in low-molecular-weight (LMW) compounds. The identification of saturated hydrocarbon residues created during thermal degradation processes is further supported by the presence of distinctive diagnostic ions, especially 85 m/z for aliphatic hydrocarbons. Phthalate esters were identified in only three samples (S2–S4), while they were absent in S1 and S5, suggesting variability in the composition of the burnt substrates. The study confirms that GC–MS/MS is a robust and reliable technique for the identification and characterization of such residues in complex fire debris matrices, providing valuable insights for forensic interpretation and source attribution. These findings provide crucial mechanistic insights into the thermal alteration pathways of organic matter during combustion and have significant implications for improving source apportionment models for atmospheric particulate matter, refining environmental risk assessments of combustion-derived emissions, and developing more effective strategies for monitoring and mitigating the release of toxic organic pollutants from various combustion sources.