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Fate of mercury in incineration. State of the Art and feedback

Introduction

Report from the MIMOSA collaborative project - July 2017 - July 2019

Project partners: CME Environnement, DURAG France, EIFFAGE ENERGIE SYSTEMES - SECAUTO, IMT Mines Albi – Carmaux, RECORD, SÉCHÉ Environnement (coordinator), SUEZ

Project supported by ADEME – CORTEA Programme

Summary

A study published in 2014 by the RECORD Association showed that the processes associated with the fate of mercury (Hg) in the thermal treatment of waste by incineration often remained unclear. In particular, many grey areas concerning the evolution of mercury speciation according to the compartments of the Energy Recovery Unit (UVE), in relation to the respective roles of temperature, oxygen levels and the molecules present, are still poorly understood. With the aim of overcoming these difficulties and gaining a better understanding of the occurrence of erratic variations in the Hg content of combustion fumes, the Consortium set up above decided to implement a research programme, under the acronym MIMOSA, to ensure better control and efficiency of mercury abatement before release into the atmosphere.

The work, supported by ADEME through the CORTEA programme (Knowledge, Reduction at Source and Treatment of Emissions into the Air), was carried out as part of an industrial experiment at the Alcéa site in Nantes Métropole, operated by Séché Environnement. After updating scientific and technical knowledge by drawing up a state of the art report, the work involved taking reliable continuous measurements of mercury species at 3 points on the UVE, coupled with continuous Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis of O2, NOx, HCl, H2O and SO2 parameters at the same points, in order to determine the physico-chemical operating conditions required for environmental control of mercury.

The data collected was used to determine the operating and control parameters for the UVE in order to comply with the future emission limit value (ELV) imposed by the revision of the BREF Incineration applicable from 1 January 2023. This study has also contributed to the development of knowledge about the different forms of mercury during the waste thermal treatment process. The mechanisms by which mercury is transformed were clarified in relation to local thermodynamic conditions, and thermochemical modelling was used to correlate the data acquired with the initial hypotheses. The MIMOSA programme also assessed mercury capture during flue gas treatment.

/en/research-work/230-fate-of-mercury-in-incineration.htm

Publication date: July 2019

Achievement: RECORD

Reference: ANTONINI Gérard, COUFFIGNAL Bénédicte, 2018. MIMOSA – Devenir du mercure en incinération : métrologie, spéciations et impact sur l’efficacité d’abattement - état de l'art et retours d'expérience. 138 pages

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