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Mercury management in the Chlor-alkali industry INC3 Technical Briefing Nairobi, Kenya October 30, 2011 Dolf van Wijk -

Mercury management in the Chlor-alkali industry INC3 Technical Briefing Nairobi, Kenya October 30, 2011 Dolf van Wijk - WCC. Content WCC: phase out of mercury use Mercury storage Mercury stabilisation . Mercury management in the chlor-alkali industry.

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Mercury management in the Chlor-alkali industry INC3 Technical Briefing Nairobi, Kenya October 30, 2011 Dolf van Wijk -

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  1. Mercury management in the Chlor-alkali industry INC3 Technical Briefing Nairobi, Kenya October 30, 2011 Dolf van Wijk - WCC

  2. Content WCC: phase out of mercury use Mercury storage Mercury stabilisation Mercury management in the chlor-alkali industry

  3. Hg use in chlor-alkali by WCC members 3

  4. Estimate of mercury still present in chlor-alkali plants (situation end 2010) (*) but for less than 1 Mt Cl2/yr on a total of 6.5 Mt/yr (**) rounded values based on an average of 1.9 t Hg/kt Cl2 capacity

  5. Illustration of the volume of the surplus Hg • 7,540 tonnes of liquid mercury is equivalent to 560 m³ • This is nearly the volume of the famous sculpture „The Bean“ in Chicago’s Millennium Park, which is inspired by a drop of liquid mercury

  6. Handling and storage of mercury in CA industry • Safe handling and storage of liquid mercury is long-standing practice in chlor-alkali industry • Good housekeeping; continued training; regular controls are key elements • WCC guidance documents shared; several topics, e.g. housekeeping, minimisation of emissions, analytical methods, decommissioning, mercury storage … http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Mercury/PrioritiesforAction/ChloralkaliSector/Reports/tabid/4495/language/en-US/Default.aspx

  7. Safe handling practices during operation Cell room Respiratory equipment during cleaning

  8. Safe handling practices during operation Vapour extraction and active carbon filtration Confinement with aeration

  9. Safe handling during conversion Installation of dedicated area to change ppe: Personal protective equipment Frequent air measurements

  10. Safe handling during conversion Fluorescent x-ray measurements Contaminated waste handling

  11. Mercury storage • Storage options under consideration globally: • Aboveground – belowground (e.g. salt mines) • Liquid – solid (stabilised) • Studies ongoing on feasibility and safety • Chlor-alkali industry interested in pursuing permanent storage solutions

  12. Mercury storage - stabilisation (1) Mercury sulphide disposal in landfill and salt mines has been applied since many years • Technical solutions being studied and developed in Germany (industrial unit), Spain (lab scale) and US • Results show transformation of mercury is complete; no metallic traces detectable in solid • Germany: industrial installation running successfully since >1 year (200 tonnes treated) • Larger installation under construction

  13. Brought to full scale, licensed and commercially used Stabilisation of mercury (German company) 13

  14. Mercury storage - stabilisation (2) • Spanish project for building industrial plant launched summer 2011including collection and transport • In operation before end 2012, economic details to be confirmed • In US-Mexico commercial stabilisation also considered but still preliminary • Another option considered is long-term waste disposal based on amalgamation using zinc

  15. After stabilisation, encapsulation in liquid sulphur /sand/polymer Stabilisation of mercury (Spanish company) 15

  16. Thank you for your attention For further information: Contact Dolf van Wijk - WCC Secretariat dvw@cefic.be …and:

  17. Anouncement of related presentations • For more information regarding mercury management technologies, please attend the demonstration talks taking place from 8:15 am to 8:45 am, Monday to Wednesday. Location TBA. Monday: "Spanish Technological Developments for the Sound Management of Mercury"- Ana Garcia Gonzalez, Spanish Ministry of Environment, Rural and Marine AffairsTuesday: " A Safe Solution for the Safe Handling of Surplus Metallic Mercury by Formation of Mercury Sulphide and Final Retirement of the Stabilized Mercury in the German Salt Mines"- Susanne Kummel, DELA GmbHWednesday:"U.S. Government Actions to Manage Elemental Mercury Storage and Waste"-Steve Surface, U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency and Cliff Carpenter, U.S.Department of Energy

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