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PREDICTION OF DIOXIN/FURAN INCINERATOR EMISSIONS USING LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT VOLATILE PRODUCTS OF INCOMPLETE COMBUSTION
Citation:
Lemieux*, P M., C W. Lee*, AND J V. Ryan*. PREDICTION OF DIOXIN/FURAN INCINERATOR EMISSIONS USING LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT VOLATILE PRODUCTS OF INCOMPLETE COMBUSTION. JOURNAL OF AIR & WASTE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION 50(12):2129-37, (2000).
Description:
Emissions of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDDs/PCDFs) from incinerators and other stationary combustion sources are of environmental concern because of the toxicity of certain PCDD/PCDF congeners. Measurement of trace levels of PCDDs/PCDFs in combustor emissions is not a trivial matter. Stack measurements of PCDDs/PCDFs using standard EPA reference methods involve using a complex sample train to extract a gaseous sample over several hours, recovery of the sample train, followed by laboratory extraction, cleanup, and analysis using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. A rigorous quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedure that involves the use of expensive surrogate and internal standards throughout various stages of the analysis must be followed to ensure the acceptable quality of the measurements. The high costs associated with the time-consuming sampling, analytical, and QA/QC procedures preclude detailed system optimization and routine checks to evaluate how minor system alterations can impact PCDD/PCDF emissions. Similarly, the frequency of these measurements is often only once or twice a year. Development of one or more simple, easy-to-measure, reliable indicators of stack PCDD/PCDF concentrations not only would enable incinerator operators to economically optimize system performance with respect to PCDD/PCDF emissions, but also could provide a potential technique for demonstrating compliance status on a more frequent basis. This paper focuses on one approach to empirically estimate PCDD/PCDF emissions using easy-to-measure volatile organic precursors coupled with flue gas cleaning parameters.