Mercury Recovery from the brine sludge By Detoxification of Hazardous Waste containing Mercury and its compounds By Common Laboratory Reagents and solvents
Released on = February 15, 2006, 10:45 pm
Press Release Author = Ms. Papita Saha
Industry = Chemicals
Press Release Summary = Mercury ions in the environment are non-biodegradable and once ingested, metal ions accumulate into the organs which often-resulting death. Mercury is highly toxic for human being. In our country the brine sludge is kept in the large pits without any treatment or protection. As a result at the time of rain water, mercury and its salts mixed with the surface living beings. The kidney is the main target organ for inorganic mercury. Mercury and its salts are so toxic that it causes tremor, irritability, slurred speech, blindness, erosive bronchitis and pneumonities. The liver, kidney, brain, heart, lungs and muscle tissues retain Mercury (II). It is a protoplasmic poison6 and damages the central nervous systems. The main objective of this work is to find out a suitable and appropriate technology for effective detoxification of these solid waste to an innocuous solid so that they can be discharged safely in a municipal landfill as well as we can recycle mercury for the preparation of amalgam.
Press Release Body = The major consumer of mercury is Chloro - Alkali Industry as these types of Industry using the conventional Mercury Cell process where a large quantity of Solid waste containing elemental Mercury and Chlorinated mercury compounds are generated. Disposal of these solid waste are very difficult throughout the world as well as India also. Primary experiment shows that the sludge disposed by the plants contain around 130 mg/kg of total mercury. To extract mercury from the sludge, different reagents like Soap solution, Hot water, Hydrochloric acid, Chlorine gas etc were used and detailed investigations were carried out. From the aspects of economic consideration and effectiveness of mercury recovery, chlorine treatment was suitable over the other. By chlorine treatment about 65% of mercury could be recovered in normal temperature from the sludge. Using Hydrochloric acid about 76% of mercury could be recovered but chlorine treatment process would be both cost effective and technically feasible for commercial purposes as Chloro - Alkali Industry produced chlorine and it was rejected as istage in the Chloro - Alkali Industry.
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