Combustion of high calorific value waste material: Organic atmospheric pollution

Waste tire combustion in an atmospheric fluidized-bed (AFB) reactor (7 cm i .d., 76 cm height) has been performed in a laboratory plant with the aim of studying the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emissions as a function of combustion temperature. The main aim has been to compare these organic emissions with the ones obtained when coal is burned at the same combustion conditions. PAH emissions have been analyzed in solids collected in two cy clons at the exit of the reactor and in a trap system formed by a condenser , a filter (20 mu m), and an adsorbent. After PAH extraction with dimethylf ormamide (DMF) by sonication, fluorescence spectroscopy in the synchronous mode (FS) has been used as an analytical technique to quantify the PAHs emi tted. It could be concluded that higher PAH emissions are generated when th is waste material is burnt at the same conditions used for coal atmospheric fluidized-bed combustion (AFBC).