TITLE
Development of a Laboratory Method for Estimation of Hydrogen
Chloride Emission Potential of Incinerator Feed Materials

AUTHOR(S)
Larry D. Johnson, Robert G. Fuerst, Thomas J. Logan, and M. Rodney
Midgett

PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS
Research Triangle Institute
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709

SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS
Atmospheric Research and Exposure Assessment Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, NC  27711

ABSTRACT
A laboratory method has been developed to provide an estimate of
the amount of hydrogen chloride gas that will form during
incineration of a waste.  The method involves heating of a sample
of the waste to 900ø C in a tube furnace, removal of particles from
the resulting gases by filtration, collection of hydrogen chloride
gas in a water-filled impinger, and measurement of the collected
HCl as chloride using ion chromatography.  The original goal of
this project was to develop a method which would allow accurate
determination in the laboratory, of the amount of HCl formed upon
full-scale incineration of a given hazardous waste feed material. 
Although the laboratory equipment and procedures performed as
designed, the data show that results are very sensitive to
materials of construction, availability of hydrogen, and probably
other factors difficult to translate accurately from laboratory to
full-scale equipment.  In particular, the incomplete and variable
conversion of inorganic chlorine compounds upon incineration makes
estimation of HCl release during incineration of a real waste
highly unreliable.  This same variable conversion of inorganic
chlorides also makes use of any so-called total organochlorine
analysis results extremely undependable for estimation of HCl
emissions.  It is recommended that the current interim procedure of
using total chlorine in the waste feed to estimate worst case
emissions be carried on as the permanent procedure.  As specified
in the interim procedure, sampling for HCl before and after the
scrubber will be required for efficiency determination.