This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Hagenmaier, H. Articles by Lützke, K. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Hagenmaier, H. Articles by Lützke, K. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Problems Associated With the Measurement of PCDD and PCDF Emissions From Waste Incineration Plants

Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Tübingen, D-7400 Tübingen, F.R.G.

Hermann Brunner

Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Tübingen, D-7400 Tübingen, F.R.G.

Roland Haag

Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Tübingen, D-7400 Tübingen, F.R.G.

Michael Kraft

Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Tübingen, D-7400 Tübingen, F.R.G.

K. Lützke

Rheinisch-Westfälischer TÜV, D-4300 Essen, F.R.G.

Fly ash and stack gases from municipal waste and industrial incinerators in the F.R.G. have been analyzed for dioxins (PCDD and PCDF). Most of the currently used procedures of stack gas sampling for PCDD/PCDF have been compared and were found to be equally effective. Differences are found, however, in the recovery of surrogates added to the sampling train before sampling, which makes it difficult to validate the sampling procedure. The analysis for PCDD/PCDF in stack gas or fly ash samples from municipal waste incinerators can no longer be considered an analytical problem. Thirty samples of stack gas from a single (old) municipal waste incinerator showed wide variation in PCDD/PCDF emission, indicating that single measurements are not useful in characterizing a plant for average PCDD/PCDF emission. It will be extremely difficult to correlate plant operating conditions to PCDD/PCDF stack gas emissions or PCDD/PCDF fly ash concentrations, because the effects produced by changing conditions are obscured by the variations which occur in PCDD/PCDF concentrations during steady conditions. The variations found under steady conditions can be explained by the proposed mechanisms of PCDD/PCDF formation and decomposition at low temperatures catalyzed by fly ash. Incineration of hospital waste and pyrolytic reclamation of copper in cables and aluminium produced significant emission of PCDD/PCDF. A major non-combustion source of higher chlorinated PCDD/PCDF (tetra- to octa-isomers) is pentachlorophenol, a widespread preservative which contributes to the PCDD/ PCDF concentrations found, for example, in sewage sludge, river sediments and house dust.

Key Words: Dioxins • PCDD • PCDF • formation • decomposition • sources • municipal incinerators • metal reclamation • pentachlorophenol • sampling methods • analysis • variability.

Waste Management & Research, Vol. 5, No. 1, 239-250 (1987)
DOI: 10.1177/0734242X8700500136


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. Pitea, M. Lasagni, and L. Bonati The Toxicity Equivalency Factor Scheme Applied To Municipal Incinerator Pcdd/Pcdf Emissions When Specific Congener Information Is Lacking Waste Management Research, January 1, 1992; 10(4): 329 - 343. [Abstract] [PDF]

				B. Johnke and E. Stelzner Results of the German Dioxin Measurement Programme At MSW Incinerators Waste Management Research, January 1, 1992; 10(4): 345 - 355. [Abstract] [PDF]

				C. Benestad, I. Hagen, A. Jebens, M. Oehme, and T. Ramdahl Emissions of Organic Micropollutants From Discontinuously Operated Municipal Waste Incinerators Waste Management Research, January 1, 1990; 8(1): 193 - 201. [Abstract] [PDF]