Inhibition effect of polyurethane foam waste in dioxin formation

[Display omitted] •Decrease of PCDD/F and dl-PCB formation was observed.•Gases from oxidative pyrolysis of PUF were very effective as inhibitor.•Emissions of incomplete combustion products were also reduced.•This method helps to manage bulky waste containing PUF such as mattresses. The present work has been focused on studying the polychlorinated polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxin/furan (PCDD/F) inhibition in the combustion process by prior addition of an inhibitor to the fuel. Three different experiments of combustion were carried out at 850 °C in a laboratory-scale horizontal tubular quartz reactor, and several compounds were analyzed from the flue gas obtained, such as PCDD/Fs, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (dl-PCBs), NH3, HCN, NOx, HCl, Cl2, chlorobenzenes (ClBzs), chlorophenols (ClPhs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile and other semivolatile organic compounds. The fuel used was a synthetic waste which was composed of sawdust and PVC (95 wt% and 5 wt%, respectively) and the inhibitors studied were polyurethane foam (PUF) that can be found in mattress waste and gases from the oxidative pyrolysis of PUF. Due to the high N content of PUF, a significant decrease of PCDD/F and dl-PCB formation has been obtained in the experimental runs carried out with the inhibitors studied, particularly with the gases from the oxidative pyrolysis of PUF. In addition, it must be noted that emissions of incomplete combustion products have also decreased.