Levoglucosan
Definition
1,6-anhydro-beta-D-glucopyranose, a diagnostic pyrolysis product of cellulose (wood, cotton, paper) produced above approximately 250°C. Used in atmospheric chemistry as a biomass-burning tracer and in fire-debris analysis to characterise substrate burning.
- Chemical name
- 1,6-anhydro-beta-D-glucopyranose
- Source
- Pyrolysis of cellulose (wood, cotton, paper)
- Formation temperature
- Above approximately 250 degrees C
- Forensic use
- Fire-debris substrate characterisation
- Other field use
- Atmospheric biomass-burning tracer
Common questions
What does detecting levoglucosan in fire debris tell an investigator?+
Its presence indicates that cellulose-containing material such as wood, paper, or cotton was pyrolysed at scene temperatures, which helps characterise the burned substrate and can support reconstructing what fuel sources were involved in a fire.
Why is levoglucosan also used outside forensic fire investigation?+
Because it forms specifically from burning plant-derived cellulose and is chemically stable, atmospheric scientists use it as a marker compound in air samples to trace contributions from wildfires or biomass burning, a separate application from its arson-investigation use.
Related terms
- ASTM E1188
- Standard Practice for Collection and Preservation of Information and Physical Items by a Technical Investigator, the companion evidence-preservation standard to NFPA 921...
- Backdraft
- A deflagration event triggered when air is suddenly admitted to a compartment where a fire has been oxygen-depleted but has continued to...
- Equivalence Ratio
- The ratio of actual fuel-to-air ratio to the stoichiometric fuel-to-air ratio. An equivalence ratio above 1 (fuel-rich) produces CO, soot, and unburned...
- Fire Tetrahedron
- The model of sustained combustion requiring four concurrent elements: fuel, oxidiser, heat, and an uninhibited radical chain reaction. Replacing the older fire...
- Flashover
- The near-simultaneous ignition of all exposed combustible surfaces in a compartment, occurring when the upper gas layer reaches approximately 600°C and radiative...
- Incomplete Combustion
- Oxidation of fuel under oxygen-limited conditions, producing carbon monoxide and soot (particulate carbon) rather than the complete combustion products CO2 and H2O....
- Negative Corpus
- The discredited practice of concluding incendiary fire cause by eliminating all identifiable accidental causes without positive physical evidence of intentional fire-setting. NFPA...
- NFPA 921
- US National Fire Protection Association Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations. The internationally accepted methodology Indian fire investigators and SFSL fire divisions...
- Pyrolysis
- The thermal decomposition of cellulose in paper at approximately 150 to 300 degrees Celsius, disrupting glycosidic bonds and releasing water and carbon...