Emissions characteristics of hazardous air pollutants from the incineration of sacrificial offerings

Abstract

The incineration of sacrificial offerings generates numerous hazardous air pollutants, including particulate matter (PM), CO, SO2, NOx and non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC), which has significant effects on the environment and human health. However, due to the concealment of sacrificial offerings incineration, the emission of such pollutants has not received sufficient attention. Relevant quantification of the emission, emission factors and pollution control measures for this pollution source are lacking. To address these problems, herein, we quantified the particulate matter and its chemical composition and the emission levels of gaseous pollutants, including SO2, NOx, NMHC and CO, by performing incineration experiments of four typical sacrificial offerings (Joss paper, Funeral wreath, Taoist paper art and Yuanbao paper), and obtained the emission factors and emission characteristics for the incineration of sacrificial offerings. Therefore, this study lays the foundation and provides support for establishing an emission inventory of the air pollutants from the incineration of sacrificial offerings and introducing corresponding pollution control measures. The results show that the emission concentrations of CO and total suspended particulate (TSP) from the incineration of sacrificial offerings greatly exceed the emission standard, with averages of 621.4 mg m-3 and 142.9 mg m-3 at 11% oxygen content, respectively. The average emission factors of SO2, NOx, NMHC, CO, PM10 and PM2.5 for the incineration of the four offerings are (0.47 ± 0.17) kg t-1, (2.46 ± 0.35) kg t-1, (5.78 ± 2.41) kg t-1, (32.40 ± 8.80) kg t-1, (4.23 ± 0.71) kg t-1 and (2.62 ± 0.48) kg t-1, respectively, among which the emission intensities of NMHC and CO are relatively high. Among the different types of sacrificial offerings, the overall average emission factor of air pollutants generated from the incineration of Yuanbao paper is the highest, which is mainly due to the low burning efficiency and the coating material. For the chemical composition of the particulate matters, ions, OC, EC and metal elements account for proportions of the PM2.5 at (23.55 ± 10.37) %, (29.74 ± 9.95) %, (14.83 ± 6.55) % and (13.45 ± 4.88) %, respectively, indicating that the organic pollution is severe.