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Thermogravimetric and XRD study of the effects of chloride salts on the thermal decomposition of mercury compounds

  • SPECIAL FEATURE: ORIGINAL ARTICLE
  • The 9th International Conference on Waste Management and Technology, 9th ICWMT 2014
  • Published:
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Abstract

In this paper, the effects of chloride salt (MgCl2, CaCl2 or NaCl) addition on the thermal decomposition of five inorganic mercury compounds (HgCl2, HgS, Hg(NO3)2·H2O, HgO, and HgSO4) were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. Mercury-contaminated soil samples collected from Inner Mongolia were used to verify the results. The desorption temperatures of the mercury compounds increased in the following order: HgCl = HgCl2 < HgS < Hg(NO3)2·H2O < HgO < HgSO4. Among the chloride salts, MgCl2 had the greatest effect on thermal desorption of the mercury compounds, with the greatest reduction in the initial temperature of thermal desorption. After MgCl2 treatment, the mercury removal rates for the soil were 65.67–81.35 % (sample A), 70.74–84.91 % (sample B), and 69.08 % (sample C). The increase in the mercury removal rate for sample C with addition of MgCl2 was particularly large (34.96–69.08 %). X-Ray diffraction analysis of white crystals from the thermal desorption with MgCl2 indicated that MgCl2 promoted conversion of the mercury compounds in the soil to mercury(II) chloride and dimercury dichloride. This transformation is beneficial for applying thermal desorption to remedy mercury-contaminated soils and treat of mercury containing waste.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Public Welfare of Environmental Protection Industry Scientific Research Fund (Project No. 201309020), the Key Laboratory for Solid Waste Management and Environment Safety Open Fund (Grant No. SWMES 2013-11) and the Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund of China (Project No. gyk1061301).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China

    Tao Zhao & Xiaojin Yang

  2. Key Laboratory for Solid Waste Management and Environment Safety, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Xingrun Wang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China

    Xingrun Wang, Xianghua Yan, Zhiqiang Nie & Qifei Huang

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  1. Tao Zhao
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  2. Xingrun Wang
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  3. Xiaojin Yang
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  4. Xianghua Yan
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  5. Zhiqiang Nie
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  6. Qifei Huang
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Correspondence to Xingrun Wang.

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Zhao, T., Wang, X., Yang, X. et al. Thermogravimetric and XRD study of the effects of chloride salts on the thermal decomposition of mercury compounds. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 19, 712–717 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-016-0468-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-016-0468-1

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