Summary for mercury disposal treatment Discussion
Mercury disposal treatment is the central issue in this thread, where the original poster asks how to dispose of mercury mixed with leaded glass from luminaire manufacturing, and a later question asks whether old laboratory mercury can be made safe enough to pour down the drain. Brian Terry warns Vijaya Satchidanandam not to attempt drain disposal, saying mercury must be handled as special waste under current environmental rules. He also notes that mercury metal may have value and could be taken by a metal recycler. For very small amounts, he says elemental sulfur can be used to stabilize mercury, but for mercury waste he recommends contacting a waste hauler. He adds that while mercury removal from wastewater is possible, meeting discharge limits would likely be difficult.
I have a customer posing a tricky pollution solution inquiry. They wanted to treat/dispose wastes from luminaire manufacturing. The wastes are mercury mixed with leaded-glass. Wastes are collected in plastic drum, but they are slowly accumulating in the storage area. Customer wanted to dispose of the wastes. Anybody out there with an idea how to dispose/treat/recycle this wastes, this is a very good business opportunity. Contact me so we can discuss what are the available options.
Peter e. de Dios
– Binan, Laguna, Philippines
2003
Ed. note: This RFQ is outdated, but technical replies are welcome, and readers are encouraged to post their own RFQs. But no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?).
Q. My laboratory which I inherited has some old mercury left over from some previous researcher’s work. Can you suggest any chemical reaction that can be used to make it safe enough to be thrown down the drain? Thanks, Vijaya
Vijaya Satchidanandam
– Bangalore, Karnataka, India
July 21, 2012
A. Hi Vijaya,
I can’t imagine that the Indian Environmental Department is going to be overly pleased with any attempt to dispose of a mercury containing substance “down the drain”. All Mercury wastes must be treated as special waste and disposed of in line with Indian current environmental disposal legislation. Whatever you do, don’t try to throw it down the drain!
Brian Terry
Aerospace – Yeovil, Somerset, UK
July 24, 2012
A. Mercury metal is worth money. Some metal recycler should take it off your hands.
SMALL amounts of mercury can be stabilized by dusting with elemental sulfur
⇦ on
or
Amazon [affil link]
.
Or, if you are talking about a mercury waste, contact a waste hauler. There are techniques for removing mercury from wastewater, but I doubt you could attain the required discharge limit.
Dave Wichern
Consultant – The Bronx, New York
July 26, 2012