title: Prediction of dioxin/furan incinerator emissions using low-molecular-weight volatile products of incomplete combustion.
abstract: Emissions of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs/Fs) from incinerators and other stationary combustion sources are of environmental concern because of the toxicity of certain PCDD/F congeners. Measurement of trace levels of PCDDs/Fs in combustor emissions is not a trivial matter. Development of one or more simple, easy-to-measure, reliable indicators of stack PCDD/F concentrations not only would enable incinerator operators to economically optimize system performance with respect to PCDD/F emissions, but could also provide a potential technique for demonstrating compliance status on a more frequent basis. This paper focuses on one approach to empirically estimate PCDD/F emissions using easy-to-measure volatile organic C2 chlorinated alkene precursors coupled with flue gas cleaning parameters. Three data sets from pilot-scale incineration experiments were examined for correlations between C2 chlorinated alkenes and PCDDs/Fs. Each data set contained one or more C2 chloroalkenes that were able to account for a statistically significant fraction of the variance in PCDD/F emissions. Variations in the vinyl chloride concentrations were able to account for the variations in the PCDD/F concentrations strongly in two of the three data sets and weakly in one of the data sets.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA. lemieux.paul@epa.gov
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Lemieux
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Ryan
mesh_terms: D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D004147:Dioxins / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D005544:Forecasting; D005663:Furans / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D017745:Incineration; D008970:Molecular Weight; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000379:methods; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D004147:Dioxins; D005663:Furans