Formation of 2,3,7,8‐tetrabromodibenzodioxin and ‐furan by thermolysis of polymers containing brominated flame retardants

Several plastic products which are used in areas exposed to fire hazards contain flame retardants. A group of important flame retardants are brominated aromatic compounds, and it is believed that they thermally generate polybrominated dibenzodioxins (PBrDD) and dibenzofurans (PBrDF). The formation of 2,3,7,8‐Tetrabromodibenzodioxin (TBrDD) and ‐Tetrabromodibenzofuran (TBrDF) from various plastics with brominated flame retardants under different thermolysis conditions is presented. At 600 °C, 2,3,7,8‐TBrDD and ‐TBrDF in concentrations of 0.01–7 and 0.01–6 ppm, respectively, are formed from plastics containing decabromodiphenylether or polybromodiphenylether as flame retardant. With increasing temperature the concentration of these isomers decreases until they are no longer detectable above 800 °C (detection limit: 0.01 ppm). The hypothetical reaction pathways for the formation of 2,3,7,8‐TBrDD and ‐TBrDF by thermolysis of decabromodiphenylether are proposed. The solubility and photochemical properties of 2...