title: Destruction and formation of dioxin-like PCBs in dedicated full scale waste incinerators.
abstract: Destruction and formation of dioxin-like PCBs in full scale waste incinerators is studied by analysing input waste streams and boiler and fly ash of a grate furnace incinerator (GFI) incinerating MSW, of a Fluidised Bed Combustor (FBC) incinerating a mix of 50% sludge, 25% refuse derived fuel (RDF) and 25% automotive shredder residue (ASR) and of a rotary kiln incinerator (RKI) incinerating hazardous waste. The dioxin-like PCB fingerprints of the waste inputs show that PCB oils Aroclor 1242 and Aroclor 1254 late are the major dioxin-like PCB contamination source of sludge, RDF and ASR. The dioxin-like PCB fingerprints of the waste inputs are clearly different from the fingerprints of the outputs, i.e. boiler and fly ash, indicating that in full scale waste incinerators dioxin-like PCBs in the input waste are destroyed and other dioxin-like PCBs are newly formed in the post combustion zone. The dioxin-like PCB fingerprint of boiler and fly ash of all three incinerators corresponds well to the fly ash fingerprint obtained in lab scale de novo synthesis experiments, indicating that dioxin-like PCBs are mainly formed through this mechanism. The high PCB concentration in the input waste mix of the RKI does not promote the formation of dioxin-like PCBs through precursor condensation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Leuven, De Croylaan 46, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium. Electronic address: jo.vancaneghem@cit.kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Caneghem
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Block
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vandecasteele
mesh_terms: D060729:Coal Ash; D004147:Dioxins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D006256:Hazardous Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D017745:Incineration / Q000379:methods*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D060729:Coal Ash; D004147:Dioxins; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: De novo synthesis; Incineration; PCB; PCDD/F; Waste