Ultra-low PCDD/F emissions and their particle size and mass distribution in a hazardous waste treatment system

An integrated gasification-flameless combustion-melting process was approached by a twin-cyclonic flow in a hazardous waste thermal treatment plant. A series of advanced scrubber, cyclonic demister, activated carbon adsorption, and baghouse processes were equipped for the end-of-pipe treatment. The untreated filterable particulate matter, CO, and NOx levels were only 283, 47.1, and 15.9 mg/Nm³, indicating the flameless combustion inhibited their formation by narrowing the post-combustion zone. The filterable particle mass-size distribution was equally contributed by nucleation, accumulation, and coarse formations, while their number concentration was predominated by nucleation (99.6%). That could enhance the adsorption of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) on ultrafine particles. Both total mass and toxic equivalent concentrations of PCDD/Fs were reduced 99.9% by the new air pollution control system when a slight reformation occurred during scrubbing. However, the escaped PCDD/Fs were mainly distributed on the ultrafine particles, which should be further inhibited by either increasing their sizes or equipping backup filtrations. Finally, the new process concentrates the PCDD/Fs into the scrubbing sludge, which could be recirculated back into the thermal process. This study not only reveals the emission risk of the ultrafine particle-bound PCDD/Fs, but also provides an effective process to remove them for industrial application.