VOLATILE ORGANOCHLORINE COMPOUNDS FORMED IN THE BLEACHING OF PULP WITH CLO2

Volatile organochlorine compounds (VOCCs) formed during kraft pulp ble aching were determined from the bleaching effluent at the bleach plant s and from waste water at the waste water treatment plants of three pu lp mills means by of a purge and trap injector connected to a GC/MS. A mong the seventeen VOCCs identified when ClO2 was used in pulp bleachi ng, chloroform constituted the major fraction and dichloroacetic acid methyl ester and 2,5-dichlorothiophene were also abundant. The formati on of VOCCs was related to the use of ClO2 in bleaching, with a lower ClO2 charge yielding less VOCCs and hardly any being formed when non-c hlorinated bleaching agents were used. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd