Soot (/sʊt/suut) is a mass of impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons.[1] It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process[according to whom?] but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolysed fuel particles such as coal, cenospheres, charred wood, and petroleum coke that may become airborne during pyrolysis and that are more properly identified as cokes or char.
Soot causes various types of cancer and lung disease.[2]
Bond, T. C.; Doherty, S. J.; Fahey, D. W.; Forster, P. M.; Berntsen, T.; Deangelo, B. J.; Flanner, M. G.; Ghan, S.; Kärcher, B.; Koch, D.; Kinne, S.; Kondo, Y.; Quinn, P. K.; Sarofim, M. C.; Schultz, M. G.; Schulz, M.; Venkataraman, C.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, S.; Bellouin, N.; Guttikunda, S. K.; Hopke, P. K.; Jacobson, M. Z.; Kaiser, J. W.; Klimont, Z.; Lohmann, U.; Schwarz, J. P.; Shindell, D.; Storelvmo, T.; Warren, S. G. (2013). "Bounding the role of black carbon in the climate system: A scientific assessment"(PDF). Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 118 (11): 5380. Bibcode:2013JGRD..118.5380B. doi:10.1002/jgrd.50171.