Dioxin emissions from waste incinerators

Mechanisms that have been proposed to account for the emission of PCDD/PCDF from municipal waste incinerators were evaluated in the light of extensive experimental data obtained from the Quebec City municipal solid waste incinerator by Environment Canada. It was found that PCDD/PCDF emissions were closely related to the quantity of material entrained by the combustion gases.     

Waste incineration and pulmonary function: an epidemiologic study of six communities

This study investigated the chronic effects of emissions from three different waste incinerators on pulmonary function of both healthy and sensitive subjects with chronic respiratory symptoms. Participants were 8-80 years old, not currently smoking, and living in one of three communities each with an incinerator or one of three matched comparison communities. In total, 1018 subjects underwent a spirometric test once a year during 1992-1994. Exposure was assessed by three methods: living in an incinerator community; distance from the incinerator; and an incinerator exposure index, a function of the distance and direction of each subject's residence to the incinerator, days downwind, and average time spent outdoors. The results generally showed no statistically significant association between pulmonary function and these three incinerators, adjustment for gas oven/range use at home, length of residency, and smoking history in the mixed linear models. Two significant associations were that exposure to the hazardous waste incinerator in 1994 and to the municipal waste incinerator in 1993 were related to poor forced vital capacity. Sensitive subjects were not more adversely affected by incineration emissions than were hay fever or normal subjects. Possible explanations for the negative findings are low exposure levels and bias due to nondifferential misclassification of exposures.     

Waste Incineration and Pulmonary Function: An Epidemiologic Study of Six Communities

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the chronic effects of emissions from three different waste incinerators on pulmonary function of both healthy and sensitive subjects with chronic respiratory symptoms. Participants were 8-80 years old, not currently smoking, and living in one of three communities each with an incinerator or one of three matched comparison communities. In total, 1018 subjects underwent a spirometric test once a year during 1992-1994. Exposure was assessed by three methods: living in an incinerator community; distance from the incinerator; and an incinerator exposure index, a function of the distance and direction of each subject's residence to the incinerator, days downwind, and average time spent outdoors. The results generally showed no statistically significant association between pulmonary function and these three incinerators, adjustment for gas oven/range use at home, length of residency, and smoking history in the mixed linear models. Two significant associations were that exposure to the hazardous waste incinerator in 1994 and to the municipal waste incinerator in 1993 were related to poor forced vital capacity. Sensitive subjects were not more adversely affected by incineration emissions than were hay fever or normal subjects. Possible explanations for the negative findings are low exposure levels and bias due to nondifferential misclassification of exposures.     

Air Pollution Emissions from the Incineration of Hospital Waste

Since 1981, hospitals in Illinois have been prohibited from depositing hazardous infectious waste in landfills without first rendering the waste innocuous. The Illinois Pollution Control Board has adopted regulations indicating that incineration is an acceptable method for disposal of this waste. Emissions from incineration of the plastic-rich hospital waste are not well documented. Stack emissions of particles, hydrochloric acid, carbon monoxide, ethane, ethylene, propane and propylene were measured from a hospital incinerator where all of the hospital's waste (including hazardous infectious waste) was burned. Emission factors developed for each emission component were: particles 1.0–1.6 g/kg waste; hydrochloric acid 3.3–5.3 g/kg; carbon monoxide 1.4–1.8g/kg; ethane <0.002g/kg; ethylene <0.010g/kg; propane <0.012 g/kg; and propylene <0.011 g/kg     

An assessment of dioxin contamination from the intermittent operation of a municipal waste incinerator in Japan and associated remediation

Significant dioxin (polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins (PCDDs)/polychlorinated dibenzo-furans (PCDFs)) pollution from a municipal solid waste incinerator was discovered in 1997 in Osaka prefecture/Japan. The cause and mechanism of pollution was identified by a detailed assessment of the environment and incinerator plant. The primary sources of PCDD/PCDF pollution were high dioxin releases from an intermittently operated waste incinerator with PCDD/PCDF emissions of 150 ng-TEQ/Nm³. PCDD/PCDF also accumulated in the wet scrubber system (3,000 μg TEQ/L) by adsorption and water recirculation in the incinerator. Scrubber water was air-cooled with a cooling tower located on the roof of the incinerator. High concentrations of dioxins in the cooling water were released as aerosols into the surrounding and caused heavy soil pollution in the area near the plant. These emissions were considered as the major contamination pathway from the plant. Decontamination and soil remediation in and around the incinerator plant were conducted using a variety of destruction technologies (including incineration, photochemical degradation and GeoMelt technology). Although the soil remediation process was successfully finished in December 2006 about 3 % of the waste still remains. The case demonstrates that releases from incinerators which do not use best available technology or which are not operated according to best environmental practices can contaminate their operators and surrounding land. This significant pollution had a large impact on the Japanese government’s approach toward controlling dioxin pollution. Since this incident, a ministerial conference on dioxins has successfully strengthened control measures.     

Dioxins and furans in emissions from medical waste incinerators

Dioxins and furans were detected in emissions from eight medical waste incinerators tested in California. Total uncontrolled emissions ranged from 363 to 11, 811 nanograms per dry standard cubic meter. The most effective of three wet scrubbers achieved an emissions control efficiency of 95 percent for total PCDD and PCDF. A baghouse was less than 30 percent efficient in removing PCDD and PCDF from the incinerator emissions.     

Transient puffs of trace organic emissions from a batch-fed waste propellant incinerator

Emissions data have been obtained from a waste propellant incinerator. The incinerator is a dual fixed hearth, controlled air incinerator equipped with acid gas and particulate scrubbing. "Puffing" has been evident in this waste propellant incinerator by spikes in the CO concentration. Transient puffs of organics may travel down the combustion chambers and lead to stack emissions. The major conclusions from this study are that (1) transient puffs are formed due to the semi-batch feed nature of the combustion process (causing a local oxygen deficiency) and high water content of the desensitized propellant; (2) in batch-fed combustors, puffs can contribute to most of the organic emissions (which are relatively low) measured with US EPA sampling and analytical methods; (3) it is estimated that batch-fed combustion contributes up to 7-18 times more emissions than steady-state combustion will generate; (4) by applying dispersion analyses to determine the amount of oxygen deficiency in the flame zone, the combustion zone concentration of CO during batch-fed operation could be as high as 160,000 ppm, compared to a measured peak stack concentration of 1200 ppm CO; and (5) an organic sample is collected and averaged over at least a 2-h period that smooths out the transient peaks of organics emissions during batch-fed operation. For emissions that are associated with long-term potential health impacts, this is an appropriate sampling method. However, if a compound has a short-term potential health impact, it may be important to measure the time-resolved emissions of the compound.     

洗像废液的分质处理

对洗像过程中产生的洗像废液按照成分的不同进行分质处理。其中 ,有机废液采用高温焚烧的方法进行处理 ;无机废液根据主要成分的化学性质分别采用中和、氧化等方法进行处理。通过室内试验 ,确定了处理工艺的主要参数 ,并根据试验结果 ,利用废液处理站设施处理了 1.6 4t洗像废液。处理后排放的废水、废气均达到了国家有关排放标准     

The national incinerator testing and evaluation program two-stage incinerator combustion tests

In this paper the summary results of tests conducted at the P.E.I. energy-from-waste facility, a two-stage incinerator, are presented. Extensive data on refuse feed, ash, emissions and operating conditions will provide the most significant body of information yet available for energy from waste facilities.     

Observations and assessment relating to incineration of chlorinated chemical wastes

Tests have been carried out on the chemical waste incinerator operated by Re-Chem International at Bonnybridge, Scotland, to determine whether any emissions of polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) or polychlorodibenzofurans (PODF) occurred during incineration under typical conditions of certain organo-chlorine feedstocks. No detectable emissions of PCDDs or PCDFs were found during the incineration of 2,4,5-I esters, pentachlorophenol residues or PCB in liquid form. A just measurable amount of 2,3,7,8 TCDF was detected during the incineration of large intact capacitors and prior shredding, or puncturing, is preferred. The measured levels of PCDDs and PCDFs in soils collected in the vicinity of the Bonnybridge plant were found to be comparable to or less than those reported in urban or rural environments elsewhere. The reported detection of these compounds in a soil sample collected in 1877 suggests that they may be ubiquitous. It is demonstrated that cows grazing close to the Bonnybridge incinerator are unlikely to have suffered ill-effects from these emissions.     

Particulate PAHs observed in the surrounding of a municipal incinerator

An intensive sampling campaign was undertaken in the surroundings of a municipal waste incinerator located in a French great urban centre in order to evaluate the impact of particles emissions on the ambient air and to estimate the exposure levels to toxic or carcinogenic compounds for a population living in the neighbourhood of this incinerator. To minimise the effect of industrial and road activities, sampling was performed during the 2 days of a weekend and on Monday morning. Different operating modes of the incinerator were investigated: (i) normal incinerator functioning and (ii) maintenance activity of the combustion chamber corresponding to the stop and cooling furnace periods. Particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and total particulate carbon concentrations were determined in three sites situated, respectively, close to the incinerator, 2 km downwind and 1 km upwind of the plant. In normal operating mode similar concentrations were observed in the three sites. During the furnace stop an increase of total PAH concentrations was observed in the sampling site close to the incinerator. The concentration was 3 times higher than those measured in the other two sampling sites. But this increase was limited in time and in space since this phenomenon is only observed in the vicinity of the incinerator. The study of PAH profiles indicated that Pyrene and Retene showed the highest enhancement of their relative concentrations. The influence of incinerator functioning parameters on the PAHs concentrations is discussed. The furnace temperature and the mode of exhaust fumes seem to be deciding parameters to explain the increase of PAH level in the incinerator site. However, the incinerator emissions remained a minor part of the atmospheric pollution in the urban area.     

Estimation of the contribution of a municipal waste incinerator to the overall emission and human intake of PCBs in Wilrijk, Flanders

The contribution of the emission of PCBs by a municipal waste incinerator in Wilrijk, a relatively industrialized district in the largest city of Flanders, to the total emission to air and to the total human intake was estimated. Therefore it was compared to the emission of PCBs by evaporation from PCB containing applications (transformers, capacitors, paint, ink, etc.) and to the intake of PCBs with food. As there was a lack of PCB data from the incinerator, the PCB emission concentration was estimated using three different approaches. A PCB measurement of the incinerator emission, performed later on, fell within the predicted range of 0.0004-0.005 ng TEQ/Nm3. Emission of PCBs from PCB containing applications and intake from food were deduced from information available on Flemish and European level. The results indicate a PCB contribution from the incinerator to local emissions between 0.3% and 3% of the emission from PCB containing applications and a contribution to human intake less than 6 x 10(-4)% of the intake from food.     

Siting a Fully Integrated Waste Management Facility in Alberta

The development of a special (hazardous) waste management system is well under way in Alberta, Canada, and completion of an integrated treatment and disposal facility near Swan Hills is expected in 1988. The facility will handle both inorganic and organic waste streams in a physical/chemical treatment plant and high temperature incinerator. Treated liquid residues will be disposed of in a deep well, and treated solid residues in a secure landfill. The chosen treatment technology and the established hydrogeological conditions of the site ensure the maintenance of environmental quality. An intensive site selection and public participation program provided that only locations which were environmentally and socially suitable for this development were considered. Through awareness of the problems of waste and the solutions for its management, and full citizen involvement in the site selection process, the siting and public participation programs accomplished the difficult task of selecting a location for North America’s first fully integrated special waste treatment and disposal facility.     

Dioxin mass balance in a municipal waste incinerator

A dioxin mass balance in an Spanish municipal waste incinerator (MWI) is presented. Input and output inventories from two sampling collection episodes including the analysis of PCDD/PCDF in urban solid waste (USW), stack gas emissions, fly ash and slag are reported. In one collection the levels of USW were around 8 pg I-TEQ/g and non-thermal destruction was observed overall. In the other collection the levels of USW were higher (around 64 pg I-TEQ/g) and the dioxin balance revealed a thermal destruction. Analysis of the different waste materials (textile, organic, plastic, wood and paper) was performed separately and the textile samples presented the highest levels.     

Characterization of the effluents from a Municipal Solid Waste incinerator plant and of their environmental impact

An easy approach for the evaluation of the environmental impact of a Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) incinerator plant is described. In order to perform this study, selected chemical pollutants were monitored both in the plant emissions and in the waste to be burnt. The composition of waste was also determined. A mathematical model was worked out for the estimation of the ground deposition fluxes. A first validation of the model for the case studied was drawn by comparing the simulation values with data obtained on real soil samples.     

Modeling the formation of PCDD/F in solid waste incinerators

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) appear in unacceptable amounts in the gaseous emissions during the incineration of wastes containing significant quantities of chlorine and metals, such as MSW and medical waste. They are formed both in the gas phase at temperatures above 600 degrees C and on the surface of the solid phase (flyash) in the temperature range 400-225 degrees C. Both the precursor (from existing smaller chlorinated molecules) and de novo (from elemental carbon) routes are involved. An empirically derived global model for their de novo formation on flyash in MSW and medical waste incinerators has now been extended to include the precursor mechanism, and a gas phase formation component, with separate rate expressions for PCDD and PCDF. Homogeneous PCDD formation is governed by the concentration of chlorophenols and PCDF by that of chlorophenols and chlorobenzenes. The result is more complete system which distinguishes between the gas and solid phase contributions to the I-TEQ. An additional step for the adsorption of gaseous PCDD/F back onto the solid phase during cooling suggests this should be minimal in the gas ducts of an incinerator. The extended model has been tested against experimental data collected from a well-controlled pilot incinerator and commercial incinerators, and found to adequately describe the measured outputs. With the model it should be possible to predict the PCDD/F emissions from commercial incinerators, provided that the ash properties and the overall temperature-time profiles are known.     

Research and development to improve naval shipboard waste management using a compact closed-loop-controlled waste incinerator

Research has been conducted into the application of forced acoustics for enhancing the performance of a pyrolyzed waste afterburner configured as a dump combustor. Subscale studies showed that acoustic forcing of an air jet entering a dump chamber could trigger the formation of coherent vortices generated by entrainment of ambient gases. Subsequent studies showed that combustible gases could be introduced into the coherent vortices, and with additional modulation this configuration would lead to an enhanced combustion rate with low emissions of pollutants. The acoustically forced burner concept was scaled up to practical levels and tested as an afterburner on a commercial waste incinerator operating in pyrolysis mode. Results show that the afterburner can promote both compactness, due to the rapid combustion rate, and low pollutant emissions resulting from enhanced mixing prior to combustion.     

In situ monitoring of the mutagenic effects of the gaseous emissions of a solid waste incinerator in metropolitan São Paulo, Brazil, using the Tradescantia stamen-hair assay

The present work was designed to determine the potential genotoxicity at the vicinity of a solid waste incinerator in the metropolitan area of S?o Paulo, using the Tradescantia stamen-hair bioassay. Experiments were carried out between December 1998 and April 1999 in four regions (40 pots of plants per site) selected on the basis of their pollution levels predicted by theoretical modeling of the dispersion of the incinerator's plume. The exposure sites were defined as follows: highest level (incinerator); a high level (museum) located 1.5 km from the emission point; a moderate level (school, at a distance of 3.5 km from the incinerator); and a control (at Jaguariúna countryside). The difference in genotoxicity among the groups was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The frequency of mutations observed in the countryside was significantly lower [2.25 +/- 1.55, mean +/- SD (standard deviation)] than that of the sites close to the incinerator. The frequency of mutations measured at the school (3.70 +/- 1.36) was significantly lower than that measured at both the museum (4.89 +/- 1.12) and the incinerator (5.69 +/- 1.34). In conclusion, we found a positive correlation between the spatial distribution of the emissions of the incinerator located in an urban area and the mutagenic events measured by the Tradescantia stamen-hair assay. The in situ approach employed in this study was simple, efficient, and of low cost. No air or chemical extraction of pollutants was necessary for genotoxicity testing as required by other assays.     

The study on biomass fraction estimate methodology of municipal solid waste incinerator in Korea

In Korea, the amount of greenhouse gases released due to waste materials was 14,800,000 t CO₂eq in 2012, which increased from 5,000,000 t CO₂eq in 2010. This included the amount released due to incineration, which has gradually increased since 2010. Incineration was found to be the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases, with 7,400,000 t CO₂eq released in 2012. Therefore, with regards to the trading of greenhouse gases emissions initiated in 2015 and the writing of the national inventory report, it is important to increase the reliability of the measurements related to the incineration of waste materials.

This research explored methods for estimating the biomass fraction at Korean MSW incinerator facilities and compared the biomass fractions obtained with the different biomass fraction estimation methods. The biomass fraction was estimated by the method using default values of fossil carbon fraction suggested by IPCC, the method using the solid waste composition, and the method using incinerator flue gas.

The highest biomass fractions in Korean municipal solid waste incinerator facilities were estimated by the IPCC Default method, followed by the MSW analysis method and the Flue gas analysis method. Therefore, the difference in the biomass fraction estimate was the greatest between the IPCC Default and the Flue gas analysis methods. The difference between the MSW analysis and the flue gas analysis methods was smaller than the difference with IPCC Default method. This suggested that the use of the IPCC default method cannot reflect the characteristics of Korean waste incinerator facilities and Korean MSW.

Implications: Incineration is one of most effective methods for disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW). This paper investigates the applicability of using biomass content to estimate the amount of CO₂ released, and compares the biomass contents determined by different methods in order to establish a method for estimating biomass in the MSW incinerator facilities of Korea. After analyzing the biomass contents of the collected solid waste samples and the flue gas samples, the results were compared with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) method, and it seems that to calculate the biomass fraction it is better to use the flue gas analysis method than the IPCC method. It is valuable to design and operate a real new incineration power plant, especially for the estimation of greenhouse gas emissions.     

PCDD/F mass balance in the flue gas cleaning units of a MSW incineration plant

With the main purpose of evaluating PCDD/F presence and the corresponding mass balance over the emissions control system, an extensive study was performed on a municipal solid waste full scale incinerator equipped with a best available technology flue gas treatment line. Present paper reports the main results obtained, with particular reference to the PCDD/F concentration profiles and mass balances derived for every process unit of the flue gas control system. Total release evaluated for the plant is also outlined compared with data on PCDD/F content of raw waste and with reference values included in most recent guidelines.