Monitoring of radical thermocatalyzed breakdown of polychlorinated compounds

Disposal of polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) is a current problem still far from a really satisfactory solution. Because of the wide use and the chemical in activity, the PCB amount to be treated is considerably large. In this paper , the setting-up of a methodical catalytic pyrolysis of polychlorinated com pounds is proposed, The monitoring of the final decomposition products by a nalytical techniques, such as GC and coupled TG-FTIR, allowed to optimize t he reaction temperature: the encouraging results, the lower operative tempe ratures with respect to previous systems and the favourable prospects regar ding the environmental impact make this methodology open to practical appli cations at a relative low cost.