Characteristics of the PAH emissions from the incineration of livestock wastes with/without APCD

This study was conducted on two batch-type livestock waste incinerators, including the one with an air-pollution control device (APCD)—one wet scrubber (WSB) and the other without APCD for the disposal of livestock wastes. The concentration and composition of 21 individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the stack flue gas (gas and particle phases), bottom ash, and effluent of WSB were determined. Stack flue gas samples were collected by a PAH stack-sampling system. Twenty-one individual PAHs were analyzed by a gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (GC/MS). Due to the low combustion temperature, a remarkable and significant increase in the total-PAH concentration of emission from the stack with APCD was observed when compared with the case without APCD. Measured total-PAH emission factors were 285 and 2.86 mg/kg waste for the incineration with and without APCD, respectively, while BaP (the most carcinogenic PAH) emission factors were 0.79 and 0.12 mg/kg waste for the incineration with and without APCD. The total-PAH output/input mass ratios averaged 0.011 and 0.004 with and without APCD, respectively. The result reveals that the PAH content in the auxiliary fuel during the incinerating process could affect the emission of PAH.