Comparing predicted PCDF isomer patterns with those obtained from a municipal waste incinerator assessed the role of two-phenol condensation pathways in the formation of PCDFs. Complete PCDF homologue and isomer distributions were obtained from a Fluidized Bed Incinerator (FBI). Two-phenol condensation model, dependent only on the distributions of phenols, was developed to predict the PCDF congeners produced from phenol precursors. R-squared values from linear correlations are presented for the dichlorinated through hexachlorinated isomer distributions between measured and predicted. They range from 0.003 to 0.1 for the dichlorinated through hexachlorinated isomer sets. Agreement between predicted and measured PCDF isomer distributions was very poor for all homologues. Two-phenol condensation pathways are not likely to be the predominant pathways in the formation of PCDF in a FBI. However, dibenzofuran (DF) is likely to be produced from a condensation of two phenols. This work demonstrates the use of PCDF homologue and isomer patterns for testing PCDF formation mechanism from two-phenol condensation pathways in municipal waste incinerators.

• Jae Yong Ryu(Environmental Research Team, Daegu-Gyeongbuk Development institute)
• Seong Ho Jang(Department of Environmental System Engineering, Pusan National University) Corresponding Author