Abstract
ABSTRACT
The selection of Principal Organic Hazardous Constituents (POHCs) and determination of their incinerability ranking have been the subject of considerable scientific and policy debate since the RCRA/hazardous waste incinerator standards were established in 1981. POHCs have typically been selected for measurement of their Destruction and Removal Efficiencies (DREs) during incinerator trial burns based on their heats of combustion. In 1987, EPA's OSW joined ORD to evaluate the possibility of developing an improved POHC incinerability ranking system based on the concept of thermal stability under oxygen-starved, post-flame conditions. A theoretical evaluation of the thermal stability of 320 organic compounds on the Appendix VIII list was undertaken. These compounds were grouped in accordance with their possible reaction mechanisms. Selected compounds were tested in a laboratory-scale thermal decomposition unit equipped with a gas chromatograph to determine their Destruction Efficiencies (DEs) under low-oxygen, post-flame conditions. This Paper provides both the "heat of combustion" ranking system and the "thermal stability" ranking system for comparison and application.
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