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Hydropyrolysis: Implications for Radiocarbon Pretreatment and Characterization of Black Carbon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

P L Ascough ,
M I Bird ,
W Meredith ,
R E Wood ,
C E Snape ,
F Brock ,
T F G Higham ,
D J Large  and
D C Apperley
P L Ascough
Affiliation:
SUERC, Scottish Enterprise Technology Park, Rankine Avenue, East Kilbride G75 0QF, United Kingdom
M I Bird
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Queensland 4870, Australia
W Meredith
Affiliation:
Dept. of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
R E Wood
Affiliation:
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, United Kingdom
C E Snape
Affiliation:
Dept. of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
F Brock
Affiliation:
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, United Kingdom
T F G Higham
Affiliation:
Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3QY, United Kingdom
D J Large
Affiliation:
Dept. of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, United Kingdom
D C Apperley
Affiliation:
EPSRC Solid-State NMR Service, Dept. of Chemistry, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, United Kingdom
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Abstract

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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.

Type
Sample Preparation
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 52 , Issue 3: 20th Int. Radiocarbon Conference Proceedings , 2010 , pp. 1336 - 1350
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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