Formation and emission of PCDD/Fs in Chinese non-wood pulp and paper mills.

Chlorine bleaching is still practiced by non-wood pulp and paper mills in China, resulting in considerable formation and emission of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs). We investigate the distribution of PCDD/Fs in different papermaking processes and dioxin emissions at six typical Chinese non-wood pulp and paper mills. Raw materials for papermaking included reed, wheat straw, bamboo, and sugar cane bagasse. The formation and emission of PCDD/Fs varied strikingly according to bleaching processes and raw materials. Elemental chlorine bleaching promoted the formation of tetra- to octa-CDDs and 2,3,7,8-TCDF, while hypochlorite bleaching only gave rise to a significant increase of 2,3,7,8-TCDF. Bleaching with elemental chlorine and hypochlorite increased 2,3,7,8-TCDF 0.9-42.5 and 0.3-4.1 times, respectively. Most of the 2,3,7,8-TCDF formed at hypochlorite bleaching stage was partitioned into the effluent, which indicated that hypochlorite bleaching was also an important emission source of dioxins. The removal of PCDD/Fs occurred visibly during alkaline digestion, alkaline extraction, and hydrogen peroxide bleaching. Furthermore, the annual emission of PCDD/Fs from Chinese non-wood pulp and paper mills was evaluated.