Kinetic study of abatement of low concentration of dibenzofuran by oxidation – Effects of co-reactants

A detailed kinetic mechanism based on elementary steps is used to model the oxidation of low concentration of dibenzofuran in a post-combustion area of municipal waste incinerator. In a first approach, some simplifications are used, polychlorodibenzofuranes are represented by the dibenzofuran molecule and the post-combustion area is modeled by a continuous stirred reactor. The mechanism consists in 213 species involved in 1200 elementary steps and describes the dibenzofuran oxidation. This model has been validated on experimental data of dibenzofuran oxidation realized in a perfectly stirred reactor.The simulations performed show that the reactivity of dibenzofuran strongly decreases when this species is very diluted. The oxidation reaction starts when the radical concentration increases with the temperature or with the reactant concentration through the initiation rate and branching steps. An addition of methane or VOCs, such as toluene, induces an important increasing of radical concentration and promotes the dibenzofuran oxidation.This oversimplified approach brings a new contribution to understand the complex reaction of polychorodibenzofurans oxidation.

• Our work consists in studying dibenzofuran destruction by oxidation.
• The oxidation mechanism of dibenzofuran radical consists of two competing channels.
• The dibenzofuran reactivity strongly decreases when the reactant is much diluted.
• The presence of methane or VOCs leads to better total oxidation of dibenzofuran.