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