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Mercury Retirement

Unprocessed mercury can now no longer be sold or disposed of in Australia, putting extra pressure on the many industries who extract or who have mercury as a by-product of their production processes, particularly in the oil, gas, and mining industries.

Recognizing the need to uphold the spirit of the Minamata convention and the stringent EU protocols with respect to a traceable solution for surplus mercury, Ecocycle have committed to the latest European technology with a new mobile encapsulating unit being commissioned and operational in early 2024.

Ecocycle will process the recovered mercury by treating it with sulphur in a heated vacuum environment.  In this inert atmosphere liquid mercury and sulphur powder react in a safe and hermetically closed reactor.  Continuous intensive mixing during the process ensures complete stoichiometric reaction of mercury and sulphur.  The resulting mercury sulphide becomes a material, that can then be safely disposed of.

Encapsulation Process

The new technology from European leader, Econ Industries,  pioneered a traceable and economic solution for mercury retirement.   The technology processes the recovered mercury, treating it with Sulphur in a heated vacuum environment.  In this inert atmosphere liquid mercury and Sulphur powder react in a safe and hermetically closed reactor.  Continuous intensive mixing during the process ensures complete stoichiometric reaction of mercury and Sulphur.  The resulting mercury sulphide becomes a material, that can then be safely disposed of.

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