United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Air and Energy Engineering
Research Laboratory
Research Triangle Park NC 27711
Research and Development
EPA/600/S8-89/080 Dec. 1989
Project Summary
POHCs and PICs
Screening Protocol
Ruby H. James, Michael M. Thomason, M. Lisa Manier, and Joe M. Finkel
During the last decade, the de-
struction of hazardous waste by
Incineration has become an increas-
ingly desirable alternative to classical
hazardous waste disposal methods.
Properly designed and operated in-
cinerators destroy almost all hazard-
ous waste organic compounds while
reducing total waste volume. How-
ever, the improper design or oper-
ation of a hazardous waste inciner-
ator may pose a risk to public health
through hazardous emissions. Cur-
rently, trial burn protocols for an
incinerator are designed to determine
preselected Principal Organic Haz-
ardous Constituents (POHCs) and not
total organic emissions. Products of
incomplete combustion (PICs) may
be formed during the incineration of
hazardous wastes. PICs may be
defined as compounds in the stack
gas of an incinerator that are not In
the waste feed.
This report presents a proposed
analytical protocol for use in screen-
ing total emissions from hazardous
waste incinerators and combustion
sources. A tiered approach to the
screening protocol was developed,
based on simple prescreening tech-
niques. Driven by the quantity of
pollutants found in the prescreening
of the samples, more involved and
specific analytical techniques were
utilized. GC/FID, GC/MS, HPLC/UV, and
HPLC/MS were evaluated as candid-
ate screening methods. The pro-
posed protocol was applied to the
analysis of Incinerator effluent sam-
ple extracts. Major pollutants were
Identified and quantified.
This Project Summary was devel-
oped by EPA's Air and Energy Engi-
neering Research Laboratory. Re-
search Triangle Park, NC, to announce
key findings of the research project
that Is fully documented in a separate
report of the same title (see Project
Report ordering Information at back).
Introduction
During the last decade, the destruction
of hazardous waste by incineration has
become an increasingly desirable alterna-
tive to classical hazardous waste disposal
methods such as landfilling, lagooning,
and deep well injection. Properly de-
signed and operated incinerators destroy
almost all of the hazardous organic com-
pounds of waste streams while reducing
total waste volume. However, the im-
proper design or operation of a hazard-
ous waste incinerator may pose a risk to
public health through the emission of
potentially hazardous chemicals into the
atmosphere. The Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act (RCRA) requires that
the destruction and removal efficiency
(ORE) of an incinerator for certain
predetermined Principal Organic Hazard-
ous Constituents (POHCs) be equal to or
greater than 99.99%.
Normally, during a trial burn of an
incinerator for certification, one to six
POHCs per waste stream are chosen for
study. The success of a trial burn
depends on meeting the DRE criteria and
other environmental regulations for these
designated POHCs. Designated POHCs
chosen to be measured in a trial burn of
a waste are usually those that are the
most difficult to burn or those that have
the highest concentrations. Currently, trial
burn results for specific designated
POHCs are being interpreted to be
applicable to other organics in the waste
stream that are less difficult to burn.
Thus, total incinerator emissions are not
routinely determined in trial burns.
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Currently, trial burn protocols are de-
signed to determine preselected POHCs
in a hazardous waste incineration trial
burn. The development of a screening
protocol would allow for the analysis of
preselected POHCs and for the analysis
of all other major constituents of the
combustion effluent. Generally, the total
composition of a combustion effluent is
unknown at the time of a trial burn.
Compounds in the combustion effluent
may be derived from auxiliary fuel,
compounds originally present in the
hazardous waste, and compounds formed
in the combustion process. A screening
protocol must measure all of these
elements in a way to identify the major
emissions (POHCs and PICs) and certain
specific highly toxic compounds that may
be present at a lower concentration.
Protocols that are available for con-
ducting a trial burn plan and for the
sampling and analysis of specific
designated POHCs can be extended and
incorporated into a screening protocol.
The basic "building blocks" from which a
cost-effective screening protocol can be
assembled have been developed for
hazardous waste incineration programs.
The purpose of this research is to
develop an analytical protocol for use in
screening emissions from hazardous
waste incinerators and combustion
sources.
Approach to Screening
Protocol
In recent years, EPA has moved
toward a risk assessment and a risk
reduction framework for making regula-
tory decisions concerning the disposal of
hazardous wastes. EPA's Science Ad-
visory Board has commented on the lack
of information on total emissions from
incineration processes. A general sam-
pling and analysis screening protocol is
needed to satisfy requirements for data
on total emissions from incineration pro-
cesses. A screening protocol must be
able to identify and quantify the major
organic compounds in combustion
effluents.
This report documents the develop-
ment of a generalized screening protocol
for organic compounds in combustion
effluents. The sampling and analysis
methods are based on protocols
developed and documented in EPA
guideline and test method documents.
The basic premise is to use existing
sampling and analysis techniques when-
ever possible and practical. The purpose
of the developed protocol is to give
maximum information while minimizing
time and cost incurred in the collection of
adequate data. The tiered approach of
the proposed protocol provides a foun-
dation for a protocol that can be risk-
driven.
Flow diagrams of the organic screening
protocol include the extraction and
analysis procedures for volatiles, semi-
volatiles, and nonvolatiles. The proposed
protocol assumes that specific sampling
methods and procedures such as VOST,
MM5, or SASS trains have been defined
and implemented. Risk assessment data
can be incorporated into the protocol to
help determine if sufficient data have
been obtained.
Also included in the report are details
of the analytical procedures for different
analyses in the screening protocol. Each
analytical procedure has been written as
a stand-alone document and is based on
existing sampling analysis techniques
wherever possible. These analytical pro-
cedures may be used for many com-
pounds. The analytical procedures
include GC/FID and GC/MS for volatile
organics, GC/MS for semivolatile organ-
ics, analysis for organics, HPLC/UV for
nonvolatile organics, Soxhlet extraction
for solid sorbent modules, and a screen-
ing procedure for total chromato-
graphable organics.
Results and Discussion
The need to characterize hazardous
waste incinerator emissions for multiple
organic compounds has been steadily
increasing for several years. Similar inter-
est is being shown in organic emissions
from municipal waste incinerators and
sewage sludge incinerators. The strate-
gies described in this report should be
useful for building data bases related to
other waste combustion processes.
Seven protocols based on methods
published in EPA documents were
developed and reviewed. The protocols
included GC-FID screening for volatile
compounds, GC-MS screening for volatile
compounds, Soxhlet extraction sample
preparation, TCO determination, GC-MS
for semivolatile compounds, gravimetric
determination, and HPLC-UV screening.
Currently, experimental application of
the proposed scheme is very limited.
Three extracts of samples obtained from
Method 0010 testing of an incinerator
under different feed and firing conditions
were analyzed by the seven protocols.
Thirty-four compounds have been tenta-
tively identified but, more importantly, the
protocol methods seem to perform well.
Conclusions
A tiered approach to the screening
protocol was developed based on simple
prescreening techniques. Driven by the
quantity of pollutants found in the
prescreening of the samples, more in-
volved and specific analytical technique;
were utilized. GC/FID, GC/MS, HPLC/UV
and HPLC/MS were evaluated as candi
date screening methods. Evaluation o
combustion effluent samples by the pro
posed tiered approach both supports th<
need for a screening protocol and repre
sents the initial phase in the developmen
of a risk-driven protocol for screening a
combustion effluents.
T*rU. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1989/748-012/07'
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Ruby H. James, Michael M. Thomason, M. Lisa Manier, and Joe M. Finkel are with
Southern Research Institute, Birmingham, AL 35255-5305.
Larry D. Johnson is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
The complete report, entitled "POHCs and PICs Screening Protocol," (Order No.
PS 90-776 930/AS; Cost: $23.00, subject to change) will be available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
EPA/600/S8-89/080
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