Great resource this.. I really appreciate some of Dr Williams stuff I found online and it led me here. I work with small-scale gold miners in developing countries, and am working with them to reduce mercury exposures and emissions by installing mercury trap condensers with them in several communities. When amalgam is heated, the mercury vapor is bubbled through a water trap using a fan, and the most of the vapor condenses out in the water, leaving floured grey mercury particles in the water. So my question is "What is the best way to get this mercury to coagulate, so that it can be collected an re-used?" I have tried a few things (I am familiar with re-activation), but am looking for an easy to apply solution for the small scale miners.
I'm thinking a displacement reaction might be best? Will suspending a copper plate in the water make a big difference ? - will the mercury plate onto the copper of gather in the bottom of the vessel ? Would Iron or aluminum would work better ? Anyone have any experience trying this? Would adding a solute to the water help the reaction?
Thanks alot for any input,
Daniel.
-- Edited by dstapper on Thursday 7th of April 2011 10:48:28 AM
When I reclaim mercury I run the vapor thru an alum radiator mesh with tubing which is immersed in water this pulls the heat from the alum tube and cools the vapor. The final product is pure mercury..This is a dry reclaim type just like a old time whiskey still. I'm thinking the patches present in your water is byproducts of minerals. You could try running copper wire in your solution to see if it plates. If it does then you will have to use another process to extract it off the copper.
Nice model above but I always worry about fractures in the plastic tubing due to heat expansion. How is the mercury delivered and at what temp? Great idea tho.
