Co-combustion of a chlorinated polymer with high-sulfur coals and other polymeric materials: Inhibition of the formation of chlorinated benzenes

Chlorobenzenes having 1–6 chlorine substituents are the dominant products of combustion of a chlorine-containing polymer (Saran plastic wrap). The effects of high-sulfur Illinois coals, designated IBC-102 (high in inorganic pyrite S and low in organic S), and IBC-108 (high in organic S and low in inorganic content), pyrite (the predominant form of inorganic sulfur in coals), and unbleached paper, a polymeric precursor common in municipal solid waste (MSW) on the formation of the mono- through trichlorinated benzenes, the most abundant of these chlorobenzenes, were investigated. At 500°C the addition of IBC-108 in a 30:1 weight ratio to the Saran was shown to diminish the production of the chlorinated benzenes the most (77%). Co-combustion with paper was not effective in reducing the organochlorine species, but rather enhanced their production. This study identified the possibility of an efficient treatment process in which a high toxicity reduction can be achieved at temperatures much lower than those currently used by municipal waste incinerators.