title: Experimental evaluation of PCDD/Fs and PCBs release and mass balance of a WTE plant.
abstract: The behaviour of waste incineration plants with respect to organic toxic trace contaminants such as PCDDs, PCDFs and, to a minor extent, PCBs, is still a matter of concern for the public opinion and the decision makers. It is therefore very important, first, to evaluate the release of these organic toxic trace contaminants in the environment during waste incineration, not only through the stack gas emission but also with the solid and liquid residues, and then to compare the total release with the input through the treated waste in order to assess the plant behaviour as a "sink" rather than a "source" of organic toxic trace contaminants. The experimental investigation carried out on an Italian full scale incineration plant has shown a total 17 PCDD/Fs and 12 dioxin-like PCBs release of 5.5-27 μg WHO-TEQ per tonne of treated waste and an input flux of 1.6-44 μg WHO-TEQ per tonne of waste, with the difference between the input and the output fluxes rather small and the plant behaviour toward organic trace toxic contaminants in average neutral. Results are compared with similar evaluations conducted in the last decade on a number of waste-to-energy (WTE) plants operating in Italy.
authors.affiliation: Politecnico di Milano, Piazza L. da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grosso
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Biganzoli
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rigamonti
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cernuschi
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giugliano
authors.forename: Vanes
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Poluzzi
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Biancolini
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000032:analysis*; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D017745:Incineration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D011210:Power Plants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D001572:Benzofurans; D000072338:Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls