Design and qualification of a bench-scale model for municipal waste-to-energy combustion.

This paper reports the design and qualification of the first purpose-built, bench-scale reactor system to model the municipal waste-to-energy combustion of fluorinated polymers. Using the principle of similarity, the gas-phase combustion zone of a typical municipal waste-to-energy plant has been scaled down to the bench with a focus on chemical similarity. Chemical similarity is achieved in large part through the use of methanol as a surrogate for municipal solid waste (MSW).

Combustion operating conditions for municipal Waste-to-Energy facilities in the U.S.

This paper reports the first known comprehensive survey of combustion operating conditions across the wide range of municipal waste-to-energy facilities in the U.S. The survey was conducted in a step-wise fashion.

Thermal degradation of fluorotelomer treated articles and related materials.

This study reports the first known studies to investigate the thermal degradation of a polyester/cellulose fabric substrate ("article") treated with a fluorotelomer-based acrylic polymer under laboratory conditions conservatively representing typical combustion conditions of time, temperature, and excess air level in a municipal incinerator, with an average temperature of 1000 degrees C or greater over approximately 2s residence time. The results demonstrate that the polyester/cellulose fabric treated with a fluorotelomer-based acrylic polymer is destroyed and no detectable amount of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is formed under typical municipal incineration conditions. Therefore, textiles and paper treated with such a fluorotelomer-based acrylic polymer disposed of in municipal waste and incinerated are expected to be destroyed and not be a significant source of PFOA in the environment.