Is there a meaningful relationship betwen chlorine feed and non-dioxin stack emissions?

Conference · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1997

OSTI ID:548955

Rigo, H G ^[1]; Champlin, R S ^[2]

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1. Rigo & Rigo Associates, Inc., Berea, OH (United States)
2. Vitco, Inc., Nappanee, IN (United States)

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers Center for Research and Technology Development (ASME/CRTD) published an extensive analysis and tabulation of available dioxin and chlorine in late 1995. The preponderance of that data produced no meaningful relationship between dioxin stack emissions and chlorine feed across a broad range of commercial waste combustor types. In the Preamble to the April 1996 proposed Hazardous Waste Combustor Rule, EPA acknowledged that changes in chlorine feed have little effect on dioxin emissions, but the text goes on to speculate that reducing chlorine input is still a good idea because fewer metals and chlorinated organics might be emitted. Given that the conventional wisdom - reducing chlorine input to full scale facilities will reduce dioxin emissions - proved groundless when the available data were examined in a consistent manner, what does the available data tell us about the relationship between chlorine feed rate and municipal waste combustor (MWC) stack emissions in general? Product substitution and waste component diversion programs are expensive and economically disruptive at current levels. So, the likelihood of achieving any benefit needs to be determined before public policy changes are made. If there is no significant relationship between chlorine feed rate and stack emissions, then efforts to reduce chlorine feed are unlikely to reduce the trace levels of contaminants that leave state-of-the-art MWCs. Interventions to reduce chlorine feed rate would simply cause society to squander its scarce resources chasing ghosts.

• Research Organization: Solid Waste Association of North America, Silver Spring, MD (United States); Air and Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Integrated Waste Services Association, Washington, DC (United States); National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States); American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Yonkers, NY (United States). Solid Waste Processing Div.; Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States). Air Pollution Technology Branch
• OSTI ID: 548955
• Report Number(s): CONF-970440--; ON: DE97007054
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
COMBUSTION
GASEOUS WASTES
MUNICIPAL WASTES
PARAMETRIC ANALYSIS