Re: Does burning wool release cyanide gas?

Burning wool quite possibly will release some cyanide (HCN).  Some of the 
chemical bonds in a protein like the lanolin in wool are peptide linkages 
(carbon-nitrogen bonds, essentially)and if wool is burned without a lot of 
excess oxygen, some cyanide might well be released.  If enough oxygen (air) 
is present, the bonds will all be oxidized and the gaseous products will be 
carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and water.  I would say that if you burn 
amounts of wool that aren't immense, and do so in the open air, any 
small amount of cyanide released is no problem.  If you burn wool in a 
stove (why would you?) I would make sure there is a good draft and the fire 
is good and hot, but the smell is pretty bad anyway, which would keep you 
from doing it.  Firefighters would be aware of the cyanide problem because 
in something like a fire in a warehouse where wool products are stored, 
significant amounts of cyanide could be released.