Characterization and temperature dependence of PAH emissions from a simulated rubber combustion operation

The operation investigated uses two induction furnaces for removal of rubber from tracked-vehicle treads. A laboratory-scale simulation of the field operation was employed to generate emissions at 399 degrees C (750 degrees F) and 677 degrees C (1250 degrees F), and emission samples were collected using glass fiber filters and Tenax as the sampling media. Sampling and analytical methods were developed and evaluated with 10 representative polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were used to characterize emissions. The PAH were profiled as subsets and graphically displayed as micrograms (micrograms) of emissions per kilogram of rubber and as percentages of total emissions. In each subset, relative amounts of PAH were found to be related to combustion temperatures. Identical coal tar pitch volatiles (CTPV) exposures to emissions generated at the two temperatures studied would result in a 178-fold difference in exposure to carcinogenic PAH.