Apparatus for treating mercury-containing waste and method for recovering high purity elemental mercury using same apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019015773-A1
Application number	US-201615773213-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Nov 3, 2016
Priority date	Nov 3, 2015
Publication date	Jan 17, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for treating waste containing mercury and a method for recovering high purity elemental mercury using the apparatus. More specifically, the present invention may provide a method that can more economically and stably recover high purity elemental mercury from waste containing mercury using an apparatus for recovering mercury from waste containing mercury, the apparatus comprising: a thermal desorption unit; a dust control unit; and a condensation and recovery unit, which are connected in series. The present invention has an advantage in that, compared to a conventional simple heat treatment-condensation method, a high recovery rate of mercury is achieved and high purity mercury can be obtained.

First claim

1 . An apparatus for recovering mercury from mercury-containing waste, the apparatus comprising:
a thermal desorption unit configured to separate mercury from the mercury-containing waste; a dust control unit configured to remove impurities from the separated mercury; and a condensation recovery unit configured to condense and recover the mercury from which the impurities have been removed.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the thermal desorption unit is an atmospheric pressure or vacuum thermal desorption unit.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the dust control unit is operated at a temperature between a condensation temperature of the impurities and a condensation temperature of mercury.

4 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the thermal desorption unit is operated at a pressure and temperature at which mercury is vaporized from the mercury-containing waste.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the thermal desorption unit, the dust control unit and the condensation recovery unit are operated at the same pressure.

6 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the dust control unit includes a porous filter, and is operated at a temperature lower than the operating temperature of the thermal desorption unit so that impurities present together with mercury vapor will be condensed on a surface of the porous filter.

7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the thermal desorption unit is configured to directly receive a mercury waste drum.

8 . A method for recovering mercury from mercury-containing waste, the method comprising:
a thermal desorption step of separating mercury by heating the mercury-containing waste; a dust control step of removing impurities from the mercury separated in the thermal desorption step; and a condensation recovery step of condensing and recovering the mercury from which the impurities have been removed.

9 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the thermal desorption step is performed at atmospheric pressure or a pressure lower than atmospheric pressure.

10 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the dust control step is performed at a temperature which is higher than a condensation temperature of mercury, but lower than a condensation temperature of impurities.

11 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the thermal desorption step is performed at a pressure and temperature at which mercury is vaporized from the mercury-containing waste.

12 . The method of claim 8 , wherein the thermal desorption step, the dust control step and the condensation recovery step are performed at the same pressure.

13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the dust control step is performed using a porous filter, and is operated at a temperature lower than that of the thermal desorption step so that impurities present together with mercury will be condensed on a surface of the porous filter.

14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the thermal desorption step is performed by heating a waste collection drum itself without additional movement in a state in which the mercury-containing waste is contained in the waste collection drum.

Assignees

• Univ Yonsei Iacf

Inventors

• Lee Tai Gyu
• Eom Yu Jin
• Lee Woo Rim

Classifications

• B01D53/002 Primary

  by condensation · CPC title

• B09C1/005

  Extraction of vapours or gases using vacuum or venting · CPC title

• B01D46/02

  Particle separators, e.g. dust precipitators, having hollow filters made of flexible material · CPC title

• B01D53/005 Primary

  by heat treatment · CPC title

• B01D2257/602

  Mercury or mercury compounds · CPC title