Effect of temperature and oxygen on the formation of chlorobenzene as the indicator of PCDD/Fs

Sampling and analysis of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) are both time-consuming and expensive. In principle, real-time monitoring of chlorobenzene (CBz) as an indicator for PCDD/Fs could be useful to control and optimize incinerator operating conditions. To test this strategy, CBz was analyzed together with PCDD/Fs in flue gas samples collected from a hospital waste incinerator. Moreover, lab experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of temperature and oxygen on CBz formation from fly ash from the same incinerator. The experimental results demonstrate that chlorobenzene (in particular PeCBz) correlate well with PCDD/Fs, in line with previous research. The optimum temperature of CBz formation is in a range of 350 to 400C and CBz yield increases significantly with oxygen, in line with PCDD/Fs formation. This study is useful for confirming the de novo mechanism and defining correlations between CBz and PCDD/Fs.