Mercury Recovery from Solid Hazardous Wastes by Thermal Desorption

This paper reviews basic principles, applicability, advantages and limitations, methods of predicting and improving performance of thermal desorption plants for highly mercury-contaminated solid wastes. The discussion is based on a review of previously performed bench scale tests and field applications using thermal desorption systems which have been undertaken, mostly with mercury-contaminated soils from Buna Schkopau and the Chemical Factory Marktredwitz (CFM).

The OSPARCOM-decision 90/3 from 14 June 1990 recommends that all chlorine-alkali electrolysis facilities in Western Europe using the amalgam process shall be decommissioned for reasons of environmental protection at the latest by 2010. The US American Land Disposal Restrictions (LDR) consider mercury waste as "high mercury waste" if it contains more than 260 mg/kg total mercury. US EPA 40 CFR part 261 (Identification and listing of hazardous waste) defines a waste to be hazardous either by being ignitable (I), reactive (R), corrosive (C) or toxic (T). The toxicity, as far as solid waste is concerned, is characterized by using the "Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure" – the so-called "TCLP-test", which is widely used in various countries not only within the United States. The toxicity threshold value for mercury (D009) for the Toxicity Characteristics is 0.2 [mg/litre].

Autor(en)

Dr.mont., Dipl.-Ing., Dipl.-HTL-Ing. Rüdiger B. Richter, A.J. Schmidt

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Publikation

Depotech (2010) (November 2010)

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