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Mercury management in the Chlor-alkali industry INC3 Technical Briefing Nairobi, Kenya October 30, 2011 Dolf van Wijk - WCC. Content WCC: phase out of mercury use Mercury storage Mercury stabilisation. Mercury management in the chlor-alkali industry. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Mercury management in the Chlor-alkali industry
INC3 Technical BriefingNairobi, KenyaOctober 30, 2011
Dolf van Wijk - WCC
Mercury management in the chlor-alkali Mercury management in the chlor-alkali industryindustry
Content
● WCC: phase out of mercury use
● Mercury storage
● Mercury stabilisation
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Hg use in chlor-alkali by WCC membersHg use in chlor-alkali by WCC members
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Estimate of mercury still present in Estimate of mercury still present in chlor-alkali plants (situation end 2010)chlor-alkali plants (situation end 2010)
Country or regionHg
plantskt Cl2/yr t Hg (**)
Europe 34 3966 7540
India 7 188 360
Brazil + Argentina (1) + Uruguay (1)
7 318 600
North America + Mexico 6 614 1170
Russia 3 402 760
Sub-total 57 5488 10430
Non WCC members estimate About 43 (*)
About 1000 1900
Grand total About 100
About 6500
12350
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(*) but for less than 1 Mt Cl2/yr on a total of 6.5 Mt/yr(**) rounded values based on an average of 1.9 t Hg/kt Cl2 capacity
Illustration of the volume of the surplus Illustration of the volume of the surplus HgHg
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7,540 tonnes of liquid mercury is equivalent to 560 m³
This is nearly the volume of the famous sculpture „The Bean“ in Chicago’s Millennium Park, which is inspired by a drop of liquid mercury
Handling and storage of mercury in CA Handling and storage of mercury in CA industryindustry
• Safe handling and storage of liquid mercury is long-standing practice in chlor-alkali industry
• Good housekeeping; continued training; regular controls are key elements
• WCC guidance documents shared; several topics, e.g. housekeeping, minimisation of emissions, analytical methods, decommissioning, mercury storage …
http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Mercury/PrioritiesforAction/ChloralkaliSector/Reports/tabid/4495/language/en-US/Default.aspx
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Safe handling practices during operation
Respiratory equipment during cleaning
Cell room
Safe handling practices during operation
Vapour extraction and active carbon filtration
Confinement with aeration
Safe handling during conversion
Installation of dedicated area to change ppe: Personal protective equipment
Frequent air measurements
Safe handling during conversion
Contaminated waste handlingFluorescent x-ray measurements
Mercury storageMercury storage
● Storage options under consideration globally:
● Aboveground – belowground (e.g. salt mines)
● Liquid – solid (stabilised)
● Studies ongoing on feasibility and safety
● Chlor-alkali industry interested in pursuing permanent storage solutions
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Mercury storage - stabilisation (1)Mercury storage - stabilisation (1)
Mercury sulphide disposal in landfill and salt mines has been applied since many years
•Technical solutions being studied and developed in Germany (industrial unit), Spain (lab scale) and US•Results show transformation of mercury is complete; no metallic traces detectable in solid•Germany: industrial installation running successfully since >1 year (200 tonnes treated) •Larger installation under construction
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Stabilisation of mercury (German Stabilisation of mercury (German company)company)
Brought to full scale, licensed and commercially used
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Mercury storage - stabilisation (2)Mercury storage - stabilisation (2)
• Spanish project for building industrial plant launched summer 2011including collection and transport
• In operation before end 2012, economic details to be confirmed
• In US-Mexico commercial stabilisation also considered but still preliminary
• Another option considered is long-term waste disposal based on amalgamation using zinc
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Stabilisation of mercury (Spanish Stabilisation of mercury (Spanish company)company)
• After stabilisation, encapsulation in liquid sulphur /sand/polymer
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Thank you for your attention
For further information:Contact Dolf van Wijk - WCC
Secretariatdvw@cefic.be
…and:
Anouncement of related presentations
• For more information regarding mercury management technologies, please attend the demonstration talks taking place from 8:15 am to 8:45 am, Monday to Wednesday. Location TBA.
Monday: "Spanish Technological Developments for the Sound Management of Mercury"- Ana Garcia Gonzalez, Spanish Ministry of Environment, Rural and Marine AffairsTuesday: " A Safe Solution for the Safe Handling of Surplus Metallic Mercury by Formation of Mercury Sulphide and Final Retirement of the Stabilized Mercury in the German Salt Mines"- Susanne Kummel, DELA GmbHWednesday:"U.S. Government Actions to Manage Elemental Mercury Storage and Waste"- Steve Surface, U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency and Cliff Carpenter, U.S.Department of Energy
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