The volatile compounds such as acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, acrolein, acetone, di-acetyl, furan, furfural and 5-methyl furfural from cellulose, cellobiose, glucose and levo-glucosan pyrolysates at 250°C, 350°C and 500°C were studied by gas chromatography with a pyrolyzer without intermediate trapping. The composition of the volatiles was changed with the temperatures and the degradation stages of cellulose pyrolysis. Analytical data of the relative amounts of the volatiles show that pyrolysis of cellulose proceeds through two primary simultaneous reactions: a) the initial scission of glucosidic linkages, and b) chemical changes in anhydroglucose units of cellulose.
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Kunio Katō (1967) studied this question.