Determination of acrolein, formaldehyde and other volatile components from combustion of conductor wires from polyolefin coated communication cables

摘要

Thermal degradation of various communication cables containing polyolefin coated copper conductors in air resulted in the formation of relatively high amounts of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein and other volatile compounds as determined by gas chromatography with mass selective detector. The maximum amount of evolved aldehydes was obtained when these conductor wires were subjected to thermal degradation in air at around 400 deg C for approximately 60 minutes. Polyolefin materials with additives, in general, generated relatively lower amount of aldehydes during the thermal degradation process although small amounts of methyl bromide were detected when brominated fire retardant additives were present. The presence of copper wires served as a catalyst for the production of aldehydes as demonstrated by the overall decrease in aldehyde concentration when copper wires were absent during the combustion process. Oxygen in the air contributed to the aldehyde formation from the thermal degradation process. The volatile components produced during combustion are toxic and some are suspected mutagens or carcinogens.