Process for removal and recovery of mercury from liquids
AssigneeOlin Corporation
InventorsItalo A. Capuano, Patricia A. Turley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method is presented for recovering mercury from mercury-containing liquids in which the liquids are contacted with particles of metallic silver. The method produces highly purified liquids which may be employed in applications having a low mercury tolerance such as the production of food or drug products.
Claims27
A process for the recovery of metallic mercury from a mercury-containing liquid having a pH of about 5 or higher to produce a purified liquid having a mercury content of less than 50 parts per billion which comprises:
- (a) contacting particles of metallic silver with said liquid to dissolve said mercury in said metallic silver to form a silver amalgam and a purified liquid,
- (b) separating said purified liquid from said silver amalgam,
- (c) heating said silver amalgam with a heated gas to vaporize mercury from said silver amalgam to produce mercury vapors and particles of metallic silver, said heated gas containing said mercury vapors,
- (d) cooling said heated gas to condense said mercury vapors to metallic mercury, and
- (e) recovering said metallic mercury.
A process for the recovery of metallic mercury from a solution of an alkali metal alkoxide to produce a purified solution having a mercury content of less than 50 parts per billion which comprises:
- (a) contacting particles of metallic silver contained in a separation unit with said liquid to dissolve said mercury in said silver to form a silver amalgam and a purified solution of an alkali metal alkoxide,
- (b) separating said purified solution from said silver amalgam,
- (c) heating said silver amalgam with a heated gas to vaporize mercury from said silver amalgam to produce mercury vapors and particles of metallic silver, said heated gas containing said mercury vapors,
- (d) cooling said heated gas to condense said mercury vapors to metallic mercury, and
- (e) recovering said metallic mercury.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.