OCR Text |
Show The component which contributed the largest fraction to the chlorine content in Baltimore County, was the paper fraction (0.251 mass % or 56% of the total chlorine) while in Brooklyn the plastics fraction provided the major contribution ( 0.455 mass % or 52% of the total chlorine). If all the plastics are removed from the MSW the chlorine content in the remaining waste in Baltimore County and Brooklyn would be 0.317 and 0.431 mass %, respectively. The above referenced studies and many others clearly establish the multiple sources of chlorine in MSW and seriously challenge the hypothesis that a reduction of PCDD/ PCDF emissions can be based on an overall strategy of lowering the chlorine content of MSW by separating chlorinateg plastics and, if necessary, sodium chloride, from the refuse. Depending on the waste analyzed, plastics contribute 14 to 52 mass % of the chlorine present in the waste, or about 1/ 3 of the total chlorine on the average. PCDD/PCDF Emissions from Actual Incinerators When the data from actual operating incinerators is examined, the theoretical association between HCl, and the combustion of PVC, is not demonstrated. Role of HCl Benfenati, and Gizzi l2 monitored a refuse incinerator over a nine-month period, and employing a multiple regression method, attempted to correlate PCDD/PCDF emissions with the emissions of HCl, S02' NO and co. No significant correlation was founO. x Ballschmiter l3 observed the emissions of PCDDs from refuse incinerators in Germany in an attempt to correlate the concentration of hydrogen chloride with PCDD/ PCDF emissions. After one year of observation of 6 municipal incinerators Ballschmiter stated, "we have tried to correlate this wide range of dioxin content in flyash with other measurable parameters ... our particular concern was focused on HCl emission, but there is no simple correlation with PCDD formation. The results even suggest no correlation at all."I~ Visalli l5 has reviewed the data from three recent incinerator testing programs: Pittsfield, Prince Edward Island and Peekskill. His comparison of PCDD concentration after the boiler with HCl concentration for all three plants is shown in Figure 1. |