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. 2024 May 7;22(1):305-312.
doi: 10.1007/s40201-024-00901-5. eCollection 2024 Jun.

Improved rare mercury recovery from fluorescent lamp wastes through simultaneous leaching and heating

Leyla Karamzadeh  1 , Esmaeil Salahi  1 , Iman Mobasherpour  1 , Armin Rajabi  2 , Masomeh Javaheri  1
Affiliations

Improved rare mercury recovery from fluorescent lamp wastes through simultaneous leaching and heating

Leyla Karamzadeh et al. J Environ Health Sci Eng. .

Abstract

Mercury is one of the main components of fluorescent lamps. Considering the adverse effects of mercury on human health and the environment, recovery of mercury-containing fluorescent lamps is very important in developed countries. The glass parts of used fluorescent lamps are among the dangerous wastes whose mercury content should be reduced to the lowest possible level according to international standards. The aim of this research is to achieve a systematic approach to minimize the amount of mercury present in fluorescent lamp glass residues according to the European Commission EC95/2002 regulations. In order to extract mercury from glasses, glass pieces were washed with deionized water, using stirring to increase washing efficiency. In order to achieve the maximum amount of extraction, parameters such as ratio of glass to deionized water (S/L), stirring time, temperature and pH were changed. The results showed that, the highest mercury extraction rate is about 98% and in the conditions S/L = 0.1, stirring time of 12 h, temperature of 60 °C and pH 1, which is using a combination of HCl and H3PO4 acid 5% with a ratio of 1:4 has been obtained. The success of this method not only increases environmental sustainability, but also classifies the resulting glass waste as non-hazardous.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40201-024-00901-5.

Keywords: Dangerous wastes; Fluorescent lamps; Mercury; Recovery.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
STA (TG/DTZ) diagram of Hg in the used fluorescent lamps
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
XRD pattern of the samples
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
FTIR spectrum of the sample
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Hg content in different S/L ratios
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Hg content at stirring times of 6, 12, and 24 h at the rate of 100 rpm
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
ICP analysis of Hg content at various temperatures (25, 60, and 90 °C) and stirring rate of 100 rpm
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Hg content at 60 °C on a magnetic stirrer (100 rpm) and pH of 1, 2, 5, 7, and 9
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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