Article | REF: G1820 V2

Dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls - Sources, analysis and treatment processes

Authors: Pierre LE CLOIREC, Alain LAPLANCHE

Publication date: October 10, 2022

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ABSTRACT

Polychloro and polybromo dibenzodioxins (PCDD and PBDD), dibenzofurans (PCDF and PBDF) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) belong to the family of persistent organic products in the environment. The weak emissions are due for more than half, to uncontrolled combustions. The other sources are heat engines and some industrial activities: steel industry, cement works, incinerators… After a presentation of the structures and characteristics of these molecules, this article focuses on the impact on human health. The complex analysis methods of these compounds, with some recent examples, are then presented, followed by the available flue gas pollution control processes.

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AUTHORS

  • Pierre LE CLOIREC: Professor, Honorary Director of ENSCR, Rennes School of Chemistry, France

  • Alain LAPLANCHE: Professor, Honorary Director of the Chemistry and Process Engineering Laboratory, Rennes School of Chemistry, Chairman of Air Breizh, France

 INTRODUCTION

Pollution and pollutant emissions are the focus of attention when we talk about "health risks" . Dioxin emissions, due in particular to the combustion of household waste, dominated the headlines until the late 2010s. The media were the main mouthpieces for people living near household waste incineration plants, and for consumers of chicken meat, whose dioxin levels exceeded current regulatory standards. The toxicity of these halogenated polyaromatic molecules is well established . The Seveso accident in Italy on July 10, 1976 is also on everyone's minds. Studies on populations exposed to massive spills of defoliant products, Agent Orange, containing dioxins at 0.1 to 60 ppm, during the Vietnam War, have shown harmful effects on human health. These complex-structured molecules of dioxins (PCDD-PBDD), furans (PCDF-PBDF) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) are found in industrial or domestic gaseous emissions, either adsorbed on dust or in low concentrations in smoke. They are then found in the atmosphere along with related products, together forming the family of persistent organic products (POPs) . Alongside the classic PCDD/Fs, recent research has also focused on brominated and chlorobrominated compounds (PBDD/Fs and PBCDD/Fs).

This article briefly presents the general problem of dioxins, furans and PCBs in gaseous emissions. It is divided into five main sections, presenting the structures and characteristics of these molecules, their sources and impact on human health (specific regulations are outlined here), sampling and analysis methods, mainly in air, followed by some recent results, and finally the main technologies available for flue gas cleaning.

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KEYWORDS

analysis   |   Treatments   |   impact   |   Dioxins   |   Furans   |   Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)


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