Potential new tracers and their relative emission factors for burning household waste in stoves

Abstract

Abstract. The production and use of plastics increases rapidly as they are widely used in packaging, construction materials, furniture, foils, etc. As a consequence of their widespread use and often disposable character, vast streams of plastic wastes are continuously generated, a considerable fraction of which are combusted in households worldwide. In this paper, various types of commonly used plastics (PE, PET, PP, PU, PVC, PS, ABS), as well as treated wood samples (LDF) and firewood were combusted separately in a test stove under controlled conditions. The particulates emitted during the combustion test were collected on filters, and potential tracers for each waste type were identified by GC-MS, and their relative abundances were determined. The emission factor of 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene was found to be higher for polymers containing aromatic rings in their structure. The application of terphenyls and quarterphenyls as tracer compounds has also been investigated. The trimer of styrene was found to be a potential tracer for the combustion of polystyrene and/or styrene containing copolymers. Novel tracers were proposed for the burning of PET and furniture plates (LDF), which are among the most widely used waste types burned in households.

Plastic Burning Impacts on Atmospheric Fine Particulate Matter at Urban and Rural Sites in the USA and Bangladesh

“…The observed TPB levels in Dhaka were similar in magnitude to prior studies in South Asia, including Kathmandu, Nepal (250−2900 pg m −3 ); 19 Lumbini, Nepal (570−4000 pg m −3 ); 20 Raipur, India (80−15 400 pg m −3 ); 45 Chennai, India (300−5000); 29 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (urban average 2100 pg m −3 ) 46 as well as other urban sites in Mexico City, Mexico (2000−4000 pg m −3 ); 26 Bucharest, Romania (2700−3600 pg m −3 ); 10 and Wadowice, Poland (260−2600 pg m −3 ). 30 Notably, plastic and/or garbage burning was identified as an important source of PM 2.5 in many of these studies, particularly those in South Asia, based upon the observed levels of TPB and, in some cases, other plastic burning tracers.…”

“…The specificity of 1,3,5-TPB to plastic burning is supported by numerous studies on the combustion of plastic or waste materials containing plastic (Table S2) and the absence of TPB in combustion emissions from other when plastic is not present. 2,9,10,47 TPB is predominant in the particle phase in the atmosphere, 28 with >90% in the particle phase at elevated temperatures near its emission source. 47 Any loss of TPB (i.e., due to photolysis, multiphase reactions, or oxidation) would underestimate the plastic burning impact on ambient particulate matter.…”

“…10 In the case of polyethylene combustion (PE), TPB mass fractions in PM range from below detection limits to 63 μg g −1 indicating variability with the source material and combustion conditions. 2,9,10 The median estimate of the plastic burning contribution to PM 2.5 was estimated using a TPB mass fraction of 100 μg g −1 . This TPB mass fraction was observed for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic combustion in a residential stove 10 and is the median of the five highest TPB mass fractions reported in the literature (Table S2).…”

“…2,3,12,24 Among the possible tracers, this study focuses on 1,3,5triphenylbenzene (TPB), which is produced from burning plastic and has been recommended as a tracer of PM emitted from the combustion of plastics and landfill waste. 2,10,24 It has not been detected in other types of combustion emissions, including fossil fuels and biomass, indicating that it is unique to plastic combustion. 9,24 Laboratory studies involving various plastic materials indicate that TPB is particularly enhanced in emissions from plastics with an aromatic ring in their structure, such as polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate.…”

“…9,24 Laboratory studies involving various plastic materials indicate that TPB is particularly enhanced in emissions from plastics with an aromatic ring in their structure, such as polystyrene and polyethylene terephthalate. 10 TPB has been detected in atmospheric PM samples collected in Santiago, Chile; 2,25 Mexico City, Mexico; 26 Taizhou, China; 27 Okinawa, Japan; 28 Kathmandu, Nepal; 19 Lumbini, Nepal; 20 Chennai, India; 29 Bucharest, Romania; 10 Wadowice, Poland; 30 and other sites reviewed by Simoneit et al 24 Measurements of TPB in the USA are infrequent; it was not detected in PM samples from Los Angeles, California and Corvallis, Oregon 2 and in only 26% of samples collected at a remote mountain top site on Mt. Bachelor, Oregon.…”