What is the density of wood smoke?

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Corie

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Nov 18, 2005
2,442
Camp Hill, PA
I've searched and searched. Does anyone have an answer? I can't tell you why I need this value, I just do.
 
The actual physical density is for a rough value dependant on temperature. Smoke is pretty close to air, depending on what the products are but if you need a rough number measure its temperature and use the ideal gas law relations.

If you need an exact number, you would have to do a gas analysis so see what is in your smoke. Soot laden smoke with lots of CO and heavier products of combustion have a different density than say that passed through a cat conv. with some extra air.

Corie said:
I've searched and searched. Does anyone have an answer? I can't tell you why I need this value, I just do.
 
Smoke production varies considerably. In a wood fire, it is more typical in the beginning. It also depends on the amount of air present to support combustion, what is being burned, how dry it is, etc.

Here's a rat fact for wood smoke: 25 - 100 m2/kg.

Burning plastic produces thousands of times more smoke...

(broken link removed)

Aye,
Marty
 
Is it thick smoke or thin smoke? What is the composition of the particulate matter suspended in the smoke? What is the temperature and composition of the gas component of the smoke? How much water vapor is in the smoke?

Are you in the Southern or Northern hemisphere? And are those faeries on the head of the pin dancing in a clockwise or anti-clockwise fashion?

In short, it depends. How long is a piece of string? Is it closer to Cleveland than by bus? Do you walk to work or carry your lunch?
 
Point taken everyone. Just wanted a ball park figure, I assumed it was close to air, but I wasn't sure how close and all the searching I did came up empty.
 
You can have your air monitored by an air quality company.
Aasbestos testing frim may tell you
precisly what of your air consist.
 
I'm more interested in the using the density to calculate velocities, and other things as part of a wood combustion chamber.
 
You need a cfd program, when you have changing density like in a fire box, the volume of the air changes with temp and pressure drop and therefore the velocity changes. It gets complicated. There are a lot of variables but yeah ideal gas law is about as simple as you will get.
 
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