Behavior of Extractable Organic Halogens in a Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator and the Relationship with That of Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins and Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans

Abstract

Organic halogens (OX) extractable with a water-miscible organic solvent in samples from municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) were determined quantitatively using apparatus for measuring total organic halogens in drinking water. Besides OX, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF) in samples from MSWI were analyzed separately to compare their behavior in MSWI. OX was generated both in flue gas and the electrostatic precipitator and exhibited a linear correlation with both PCDD and PCDF, implying that PCDD and PCDF were derived from OX. These results show that OX is a useful surrogate marker for PCDD and PCDF in MSWIs.