According to the recent United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) Mercury from Oil and Gas report, south east Asia, Australia and Northern Europe are the world’s hotspots for mercury contamination in the oil and gas industry. econ industries, as one of the partners of the UNEP global mercury partnership, provides an efficient mercury treatment and stabilization solution for the oil and gas industry as well as other sectors.
Mercury Wastes
Mercury wastes have their origin in mostly chemical industries such as chlor-alkali plants and the oil and gas industry. In its elemental form, mercury can be described as a heavy, silvery liquid metal. Mercury waste includes discarded mercury-containing products (thermometers, bulb lamps, etc.) and mercury-containing industrial waste (sludge, contaminated soil, etc.). Mercury is considered highly toxic to humans and wildlife. Mercury contamination can accumulate in our environment with serious consequences for the ecosystem and the food chain.
For this reason, mercury stabilization is a fundamental process to reduce the potential dangers of mercury disposal. The toxicity reduction is achieved by converting mercury (Hg) into mercury sulphide (HgS), thus allowing the transformation of a highly toxic metal to a non-toxic mercury compound.
MMCU Solution
The working principle of the unit follows the mercury sulphide formation reaction, mixing sulphur and elemental mercury. This reaction takes place in a liquid phase and under inert atmosphere avoiding material oxidation and potential risks. In addition, the Mobile Mercury Conversion unit makes sure that there is only one single on-site process step which is protected from any type of leakages. The conversion of Hg to HgS occurs after a certain period of time, obtaining a red powder name cinnabar.
Once the mercury has been stabilized in HgS, it is finally packaged according to the criteria of the final disposal site and transported for long-term storage.
The MMCU solution has been proved to be effective with several example applications including our commissioning of plants in Poland, and the United Kingdom. Concretely, our MMCU 1500 has by now treated more than 500 tons of mercury on-site.
Greatest Benefits of the MMCU
- Easy-to-handle, mobile, safe, and fully capsuled process design
- Liquid conversion process at atmosphere pressure
- Temperature-controlled process
- Transparency – Conversion of mercury directly on-site
- Minimal staff required
- Lowest price – due to reduced requirements for mercury storage transport and short disposal path
- 100% traceability from cradle to grave guaranteed
- Safe HgS disposal – One single on-site process step
- No trans-boundary movement of mercury, no interim transport
Are you looking for a solution to mercury treatment and stabilization? Please don’t hesitate to contact us!
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