Analysis, occurrence and removal efficiencies of organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) in sludge undergoing anaerobic digestion followed by diverse thermal treatments

Castro, Gabriela; Sørmo, Erlend; Yu, Guopan; Sait, Shannen Thora Lea; González, Susana Villa; Arp, Hans Peter H.; Asimakopoulos, Alexandros G.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161856

Cited by 12 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…The present work has demonstrated that a pyrolysis temperature of 500 • C is likely sufficient to remove nearly 100% of the PCDD/Fs and PCBs from sewage sludge and other organic waste feedstocks. In parallel studies, removal efficiencies of > 99.5% were reported for organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) in the DSS-1 and LSS feedstocks pyrolyzed at 500-600 • C [8] and > 98.3% for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (30 PFAS congeners) in the DSS-1, DSS-2, FWR, and LSS feedstocks pyrolyzed at 500-800 • C [54]. Together, these studies demonstrate that organic contaminants are likely to be volatilized/decomposed from the solid phase in industrially relevant pyrolysis systems where temperatures exceed 500 • C. Considering the relatively high thermal stability of the compounds investigated (PCDD/Fs, PCBs, OPFRs and PFAS), it is likely that other emerging organic contaminants, such as phthalates, bisphenols and brominated flame retardants also will be removed from the solid matrix in similar pyrolysis systems.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To resolve uncertainties related to the removal of persistent organic pollutants from organic waste by pyrolysis, several lab-scale studies have been performed [12,44,6]. Recent work also documented the first decomposition data and emission factors for per and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) and organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) from waste fractions during pyrolysis in a full-scale relevant pyrolysis unit [8,54]. Efforts have, furthermore, been made to explore ways to reduce PAH generation during pyrolysis, including the use of N 2 or CO 2 atmospheres and heteroatomic doping with non-metallic elements [31,32], metal catalyst addition [42], and technological modifications of pyrolizer units [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Distribution of Pahs, Pcbs, and Pcdd/Fs in Products from Full-Scale Relevant Pyrolysis of Diverse Contaminated Organic Waste

Sørmo

Krahn

Flatabø³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of Pahs, Pcbs, and Pcdd/Fs in Products from Full-Scale Relevant Pyrolysis of Diverse Contaminated Organic Waste

Sørmo

Krahn

Flatabø³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…Retention time in the pyrolysis reactor was 20 min for all feedstocks and treatments except the DWSS, which was run at 40 min due to technical challenges. Pyrolysis temperature was considered the main treatment variable and was varied between 500 and 800 • C. The lower temperature threshold, 500 • C, was selected in order to ensure efficient decomposition of organic contaminants in the waste feedstocks [44,[46][47][48]. The upper threshold, 800 • C, was the maximum temperature achievable with the Biogreen ® technology at the time of operation.…”

Section: Pyrolysis Technology and Operational Conditionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heavy Metals in Pyrolysis of Contaminated Wastes: Phase Distribution and Leaching Behaviour

Sørmo,

Dublet-Adli,

Menlah

et al. 2024

Environments

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Pyrolysis is a recognized alternative for the sustainable management of contaminated organic waste, as it yields energy-rich gas, oil, and a carbon-rich biochar product. Low-volatility compounds, however, such as heavy metals (HMs; As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn) typically accumulate in biochars, limiting their application potential, especially for soil improvement. The distribution of HMs in pyrolysis products is influenced by treatment temperature and the properties of both the HMs and the feedstock. There is a significant knowledge gap in our understanding of the mass balances of HMs in full-scale industrial pyrolysis systems. Therefore, the fate of HMs during full-scale relevant pyrolysis (500–800 °C) of seven contaminated feedstocks and a clean wood feedstock were investigated for the first time. Most of the HMs accumulated in the biochar (fixation rates (FR) >70%), but As, Cd, Pb, and Zn partly partitioned into the flue gas at temperatures ≥ 600 °C, as demonstrated by FRs of <30% for some of the feedstocks. Emission factors (EFs, mg per tonne biochar produced) for particle-bound HMs (<0.45 µm) were 0.04–7.7 for As, 0.002–0.41 for Cd, 0.01–208 for Pb, and 0.09–342 for Zn. Only minor fractions of the HMs were found in the condensate (0–11.5%). To investigate the mobility of HMs accumulated in the biochars, a novel leaching test for sustained pH drop (at pH 4, 5.5 and 7) was developed. It was revealed that increasing pyrolysis temperature led to stronger incorporation of HMs in the sludge-based biochar matrix: after pyrolysis at 800 °C, at pH 4, <1% of total Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb and < 10% of total As and Zn contents in the biochars were leached. Most interestingly, the high HM mobility observed in wood-based biochars compared to sewage-sludge-based biochars indicates the need to develop specific environmental-management thresholds for soil application of sewage-sludge biochars. Accordingly, more research is needed to better understand what governs the mobility of HMs in sewage-sludge biochars to provide a sound basis for future policy-making.

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“…OPFRs are registered as large volume manufacturing chemicals and have become ubiquitous in the environment, present in various sources such as wastewater [ 3 , 14 ], surface water [ 14 , 15 ], groundwater [ 16 ], seas/oceans [ 17 , 18 , 19 ], sludge [ 20 ], sediment [ 21 ], soil [ 22 ], to drinking water [ 14 , 23 ], household dust [ 24 ], humans [ 25 , 26 ], and other aquatic and terrestrial organisms [ 27 , 28 ]. Numerous studies have potential health issues associated with the presence of OPFRs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Initial Survey on Occurrence, Fate, and Environmental Risk Assessment of Organophosphate Flame Retardants in Romanian Waterways

Paun,

Pirvu,

Iancu

et al. 2023

JoX

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Organophosphate ester flame retardants (OPFRs) are ubiquitous organic pollutants in the environment and present an important preoccupation due to their potential toxicity to humans and biota. They can be found in various sources, including consumer products, building materials, transportation industry, electronic devices, textiles and clothing, and recycling and waste management. This paper presents the first survey of its kind in Romania, investigating the composition, distribution, possible sources, and environmental risks of OPFRs in five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and the rivers receiving their effluents. Samples from WWTPs and surface waters were collected and subjected to extraction processes to determine the OPFRs using liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. All the target OPFRs were found in all the matrices, with the average concentrations ranging from 0.6 to 1422 ng/L in wastewater, 0.88 to 1851 ng/g dry weight (d.w.) in sewage sludge, and 0.73 to 1036 ng/L in surface waters. The dominant compound in all the cases was tri(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP). This study observed that the wastewater treatment process was inefficient, with removal efficiencies below 50% for all five WWTPs. The environmental risk assessment indicated that almost all the targeted OPFRs pose a low risk, while TDCPP, TCPP, and TMPP could pose a moderate risk to certain aquatic species. These findings provide valuable information for international pollution research and enable the development of pollution control strategies.

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Analysis, occurrence and removal efficiencies of organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs) in sludge undergoing anaerobic digestion followed by diverse thermal treatments

Cited by 12 publications

References 63 publications

Distribution of Pahs, Pcbs, and Pcdd/Fs in Products from Full-Scale Relevant Pyrolysis of Diverse Contaminated Organic Waste

Distribution of Pahs, Pcbs, and Pcdd/Fs in Products from Full-Scale Relevant Pyrolysis of Diverse Contaminated Organic Waste

Heavy Metals in Pyrolysis of Contaminated Wastes: Phase Distribution and Leaching Behaviour

An Initial Survey on Occurrence, Fate, and Environmental Risk Assessment of Organophosphate Flame Retardants in Romanian Waterways

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