Emissions of Polychlorodibenzodioxin/Furans (PCDD/Fs), Dioxin-Like Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), and Volatile Compounds Produced in the Combustion of Pine Needles and Cones

Emission factors of carbon oxides, light hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorodibenzodioxin/furans (PCDD/Fs), and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in the combustion of a mixture of pine needles and cones in a residential stove. Furthermore, several combustion experiments were carried out in a laboratory-scale reactor: pine needles were burnt at 500 and 850 °C, and pine cones were burnt at 500 and 850 °C. In the laboratory reactor, combustion at 500 °C yielded the highest PAH level for both combustions at 500 °C. A large decrease in the total yield for PAHs was observed in the combustion in the residential stove. Pine needles and cones were analyzed for PCDD/F content to establish the level of pollutant in the samples themselves. The combustion of the mixture (pine needles + pine cones) in the residential stove produced the highest PCDD/F toxicity equivalent (TEQ) emission factor that is several times higher than the PCDD/F concentration of the extracted materials.