Emissions of volatile organic compounds from large-scale incineration plants

This paper gives results of the measurements and evaluation of emissions from seven Swedish incineration plants. The investigated incinerators ranged from 12 to 80 MW, and include Martin grate, Von Roll grate, Overthrust (W+E) grate, Vereinige Kesselwerke (V+K) grate, travelling grate, vibration grate and circulating fluidized bed (CFB) types. The analytical techniques used include online carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulate matter (PM), carbon dioxide (CO2), combustion and flue gas temperatures, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS), using Tenax as adsorbent. A number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were identified and quantified. The effects of waste compositions, size of incinerators, air pollution control systems on the VOCs in flue gas were investigated. Overall combustion characteristics such as waste compositions, carbon monoxide incinerator output have been related to the emissions of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs).