Mechanistic aspects of the thermal formation of halogenated organic compounds including polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins. Part V†: Hypotheses and summary

The hypotheses on the de novo syntheses of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated dibenzo‐p‐dioxins (PCDDs), based on known literature, are presented. Polychlorinated benzenes and polychlorinated phenols are probably key intermediates. In the present article, hypotheses that may account for the presence of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dibenzo‐p‐dioxins (PCDDs) in the effluents from municipal and industrial incinerators are put forward. These hypotheses are based on the previously surveyed literature (Ref. 203–206) and experimental results on laboratory scale and thermodynamic calculations are considered. The interconnections of various reaction steps are speculative and no technological information was added to account for conditions in real incinerators. Conclusion of the discussions on the related subject matter, presented in the Parts I‐IV (Ref. 203–206), are also described in this paper.