Gases measured in different diffusion flame zones

Light gases were measured in the persistent, intermittent and plume regions of a wildland fire diffusion flame produced by burning longleaf pine needles from the southern United States. This data publication includes measurements taken during a pilot experiment, conducted in February 2020, that measured flame gases from 24 experimental fires which were collected in canisters and analyzed using EPA method TO-14A for CO₂, CO, H₂, CH₄ and C₂ to C₇ hydrocarbon gases. Gas chromatography / mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with flame ionization detector (FID) was the primary method used to identify the hydrocarbons. Other light gases were measured using FTIR spectroscopy. Additional data include bare wire type K thermocouple temperature measurements and O₂ levels measured in the flame's zones.
Gas and tar composition of a wildland fire diffusion flame from longleaf pine needles is currently relatively unmeasured and more data are needed to fill in the gap between pyrolysis data and smoke plume data to improve the physical and chemical modeling of wildland smoke formation for prescribed fire use.
For more information about this study and these data, see Weise et al. (2025).