Contamination and emission factors of PCDD/Fs, unintentional PCBs, HxCBz, PeCBz and polychlorophenols in chloranil in China

The production of chloranil is regarded as a potentially significant source of unintentional POPs. This research aimed to identify the contamination levels of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HxCBz), pentachlorobenzene (PeCBz) and polychlorophenols in chloranil samples and identify the formation pathways. The toxicity equivalent (TEQ) values for PCDD/Fs in the chloranil samples ranged from 163 to 1 540 200 pg I-TEQ g−1, while the PCB TEQ values ranged from 1.9 to 3.3 pg WHO–TEQ g−1. High levels of HxCBz, PeCBz and polychlorophenols were also detected in the chloranil samples. The average emission factors were 522.2 mg I-TEQ t−1 (PCDD/Fs), 0.0026 mg WHO–TEQ t−1 (PCBs), 32.6 mg t−1 (HxCBz), and 136.6 mg t−1 (PeCBz). The PCDD/Fs and PCBs are thought to be formed from the polychlorophenols and polychlorobenzenes generated during the chloranil production process. Purification of the chloranil products can reduce the unintentional POPs releases and protect the environment.

► Chloranil may be the largest source of PCDD/Fs in chemical industry in China.
► High levels of unintentional POPs were detected in the samples.
► Formation pathway of PCDD/Fs and PCBs was proposed.
► Suggestion on chloranil production was developed to reduce POPs releases.