Analysis of Chemical Compounds of Gaseous and Particulate Pollutants from the Open Burning of Agricultural HDPE Film Waste

Abstract

Background and objective: Illegal open-air incineration, which is criticized as a leading source of air pollutants among agricultural activities, currently requires constant effort and attention. Countries around the world have been undertaking studies on the emission of heavy metal substances in fine dust discharged during the incineration process. A precise analytical method is required to examine the harmful effects of particulate pollutants on the human body.Methods: In order to simulate open-air incineration, the infrastructure needed for incineration tests complying with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 5G was built, and a large-area analysis was conducted on particulate pollutants through automated scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). For the test specimen, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) waste collected by the DangJin Office located in Choongcheongnam-do was used. To increase the identifiability of the analyzed particles, the incineration experiment was conducted in an incinerator three times after dividing the film waste into 200 g specimens.Results: Among the metal particulate matters detected in the HDPE waste incineration test, transition metals included C (20.8-37.1 wt%) and O (33.7-37.9 wt%). As for other chemical matters, the analysis showed that metal particulate matters such as metalloids, alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, and transition metals reacted to C and C-O. Si, a representative metalloid, was detected at 14.8-20.8 wt%, showing the highest weight ratio except for C and O.Conclusion: In this study, the detection of metal chemicals in incinerated particulate matters was effectively confirmed through SEM-EDS. The results of this study verified that HDPE waste adsorbs metal chemicals originating from soil due to its own properties and deterioration, and that when incinerated, it emits particulate matters containing transition metals and other metals that contribute to the excessive production and reduction of reactive oxygen species.

Are Particulate Pollutants Emitted by Open-Burning of Agricultural Plastic Waste (Greenhouse LDPE Film) Harmful?

“…5). As in the previous study (Kim et al, 2021), an SEM-EDS analysis of those chemical species found that the weight ratio of transition and other metals was relatively low in the fine particles with equal content of non-metals C and O compared to those with a low content of non-metal C. This was considered to be similar to the irregular shapes of rock-shaped particles found in this study. Compared to the rock-shaped particles, cotton-shaped particles with various sizes ranging from 5 μm to 20 μm were observed in the form of fluffy bundles, and were mainly small, in a size of 10 μm.…”

“…Since the element was reported to be emitted into the atmosphere during combustion of coal, fossil fuels and waste (Koukoulakis et al, 2019), it seemed to be detected at a higher frequency after burning. Previous studies using the same experimental infrastructure reported that chemical species corresponding to transition metals and metalloids were detected from the open burning of agricultural HDPE film waste through an SEM-EDS analysis (Kim et al, 2021).…”