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Insights into Full-congener Profiles of Chlorinated Benzenes in Fly and Bottom Ash: Case Study in Vietnamese Industrial and Municipal Waste Incinerators

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Abstract

Chlorinated benzenes (CBzs) are a group of organic pollutants, which have been industrially or unintentionally produced through various chemical and thermal processes. Studies on full congener profiles of CBzs in waste and environmental samples are relatively limited and not updated. In the present study, concentrations of 12 CBzs were determined in fly ash (FA) and bottom ash (BA) samples collected from one municipal waste incinerator (MWI) and one industrial waste incinerator (IWI) in northern Vietnam. Levels of Σ12CBzs were higher in bottom ash (median 25.3; range 1.59–45.7 ng/g) than in fly ash (median 7.30; range 1.04–30.0 ng/g). The CBz profiles were dominated by di- and tri-chlorinated congeners with the major congeners as 1,2,4-TCB, 1,2,3-TCB, 1,2-DCB, and 1,3-DCB. However, CBz profiles varied greatly between sample types and incinerators, implying differences in input materials, formation pathways, and pollutant behaviors. Incomplete combustion is possibly responsible for high levels of CBzs in industrial bottom ash. The emission factors of Σ12CBzs ranged from 21 to 600 µg/ton for fly ash and from 190 to 4570 µg/ton for bottom ash, resulting in annual emissions of about 6 and 3 g/year for the IWI and MWI, respectively. Our results suggest additional investigations on industrial emission and environmental occurrence of all 12 CBzs rather than solely focusing on regulated congeners like hexachlorobenzene and pentachlorobenzene.

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Data Availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. Bach Pham for critical reading of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by Project of the TNU-University of Sciences in Vietnam under Grant number CS2023-TN06-07.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Chemistry, TNU-University of Sciences, Thai Nguyen University, Tan Thinh Ward, Thai Nguyen City, 24000, Vietnam

    Thuy Thi Thu Nguyen & Xuan Truong Vuong

  2. University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 19 Le Thanh Tong, Hanoi, 11000, Vietnam

    Minh Binh Tu, Minh Hai Trinh & Anh Quoc Hoang

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  1. Thuy Thi Thu Nguyen
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  2. Xuan Truong Vuong
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Contributions

All authors (Thuy Thi Thu Nguyen, Xuan Truong Vuong, Minh Binh Tu, Minh Hai Trinh, Anh Quoc Hoang) contributed to the study conception and design, material preparation, data collection, and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Anh Quoc Hoang and Thuy Thi Thu Nguyen. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Anh Quoc Hoang.

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Nguyen, T.T.T., Vuong, X.T., Tu, M.B. et al. Insights into Full-congener Profiles of Chlorinated Benzenes in Fly and Bottom Ash: Case Study in Vietnamese Industrial and Municipal Waste Incinerators. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 112, 46 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-024-03874-1

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