title: Removal of polychlorinated biphenyls by desulfurization and emissions of polychlorinated biphenyls from sintering plants.
abstract: The influence of desulfurization on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from sintering plants was investigated. The concentrations of dioxin-like (dl) PCBs, toxic equivalents (TEQs), indicator PCBs, and total tri- to deca-chlorinated PCB homolog groups (∑PCBs) in the flue gases at the desulfurization system inlets were 290-1906 pg m(-3) (2.4-18.8 pg World Health Organization (WHO) TEQ m(-3)), 420-2885 pg m(-3), and 6496-22,648 pg m(-3), respectively. Desulfurization reduced the values to 43.3-500 pg m(-3) (0.46-9.5 pg WHO-TEQ m(-3)), 183-587 pg m(-3), and 2383-11,639 pg m(-3), respectively. The removed PCBs were adsorbed by gypsum from the flue gas; the PCB concentration distributions at the inlets and outlets and in the gypsum samples were similar. The emission factors were 9.86 ng WHO-TEQ t(-1) for the flue gas and 8.37 ng WHO-TEQ t(-1) for gypsum. Desulfurization decreased the annual atmospheric PCB emissions from 48.6 to 30.7 g WHO-TEQ, and the estimated annual emissions in gypsum were 8.06 g WHO-TEQ. PCBs in the gypsum have not been effectively eliminated and will probably reenter the environment and in turn become a new source of PCB emission. The PCB concentrations in fly ashes from series-connected electrostatic precipitators clearly increased.
authors.affiliation: School of Ecological Technology and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai, 201418, China.|State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing, 100085, China.
authors.forename: Mengjing
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Ecological Technology and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Technology, Shanghai, 201418, China. mfhou@sit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Meifang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing, 100085, China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing, 100085, China.
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing, 100085, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing, 100085, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing, 100085, China.
authors.forename: Xuebin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing, 100085, China. liuwb@rcees.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Wenbin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D013455:Sulfur / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D013455:Sulfur; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Desulfurization; Emission factor; Fly ash; Gypsum; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Removal