Polychlorinated Biphenyl Emissions from Steelmaking Electric Arc Furnaces

Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2021 Apr;106(4):670-675. doi: 10.1007/s00128-021-03105-x. Epub 2021 Jan 23.

Abstract

Electric arc furnaces (EAFs) in steelmaking plants are a major source of dioxins. Preheating of steelmaking raw materials is widely used in EAFs to reduce energy consumption. Few studies have investigated emissions of dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from EAFs, and the PCB emission levels and characteristics during preheating are unknown. In this study, PCB concentrations and distributions in stack gases emitted during EAF preheating were determined. The average dioxin-like PCB concentrations in stack gases emitted during preheating of three EAFs were 1236.1, 81,664.4, and 669.8 pg/Nm3, respectively. These values were greatly influenced by the composition of the steelmaking raw materials. The PCB profiles in all samples were dominated by less-chlorinated homologs. PCB emission factor for preheating in the EAFs is 0.58 µg WHO-TEQ/ton averagely, indicating significant emissions of PCBs from preheating process. The data will be useful for developing approaches for preventing and controlling PCB emissions from EAFs.

Keywords: Electric arc furnace; Inventory; Polychlorinated biphenyl; Preheating stage; Steelmaking.

MeSH terms

  • Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated
  • Dioxins* / analysis
  • Environmental Monitoring
  • Gases / analysis
  • Polychlorinated Biphenyls* / analysis
  • Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins* / analysis

Substances

  • Dibenzofurans, Polychlorinated
  • Dioxins
  • Gases
  • Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins
  • Polychlorinated Biphenyls