Concentrations and patterns of polychlorinated biphenyls at different process stages of cement kilns co-processing waste incinerator fly ash

• Published in: Waste management (Elmsford) Vol. 58; pp. 280 - 286
• Main Authors: Liu, Guorui, Yang, Lili, Zhan, Jiayu, Zheng, Minghui, Li, Li, Jin, Rong, Zhao, Yuyang, Wang, Mei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2016
• Subjects: Cement kiln; Cements; Coal Ash - chemistry; Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated - chemistry; Dioxin-like compounds; Emission analysis; Fly ash; Gases; Incineration; Incinerators; Kilns; Naphthalenes - chemistry; Persistent organic pollutants; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - analysis; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - chemistry; Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins - chemistry; Solid waste management; Stacks; Waste incineration; Waste Management - instrumentation; Waste Management - methods; Dioxin-like compounds; Waste incineration; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Fly ash; Cement kiln; Persistent organic pollutants
• ISSN: 0956-053X; 1879-2456
• DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2016.09.010

•PCB concentrations in cement kilns co-processing fly ash were determined.•The main PCB, PCDD/F, and PCN formation sites in the cement kilns were similar.•PCBs were mainly formed in processes at the back end areas of the kilns.•A mass balance indicated the outputs contained 49% less PCBs than the inputs.•PCBs contributed 15–18% of the total toxic equivalents in the particulate samples. Cement kilns can be used to co-process fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerators. However, this might increase emission of organic pollutants like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Knowledge of PCB concentrations and homolog and congener patterns at different stages in this process could be used to assess the possibility of simultaneously controlling emissions of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and “dioxin-like” compounds. To date, emissions from cement kilns co-processing fly ash from municipal solid waste incinerators have not been analyzed for PCBs. In this study, stack gas and particulate samples from two cement kilns co-processing waste incinerator fly ash were analyzed for PCBs. The average total tri- to deca-chlorinated biphenyl (∑3–10PCB) concentration in the stack gas samples was 10.15ngm−3. The ∑3–10PCB concentration ranges in particulate samples from different stages were 0.83–41.79ngg−1 for cement kiln 1and0.13–1.69ngg−1 for cement kiln 2. The ∑3–10PCB concentrations were much higher in particulate samples from the suspension pre-heater boiler, humidifier tower, and kiln back-end bag filters than in particulate samples from other stages. For these three stages, PCBs contributed to 15–18% of the total PCB, PCDD/F, and polychlorinated naphthalene toxic equivalents in stack gases and particulate matter. The PCB distributions were similar to those found in other studies for PCDD/Fs and polychlorinated naphthalenes, which suggest that it may be possible to simultaneously control emissions of multiple organic pollutants from cement kilns. Homolog patterns in the particulate samples were dominated by the pentachlorobiphenyls. CB-105, CB-118, and CB-123 were the dominant dioxin-like PCB congeners that formed at the back-end of the cement kiln. A mass balance of PCBs in the cement kilns indicated that the total mass of PCBs in the stack gases and clinker was about half the mass of PCBs in the raw materials.