Electroleaching: a Mobile Cleanup Process for Mercury Contaminated Materials

To date, there is no satisfactory technique known for simultaneous remediation of materials contaminated with mercury and other metals. In the case of mercury-polluted tailings from Brazilian gold-mining areas, there is the opportunity to extract mercury and traces of gold hydrometallurgically, thus making the remediation process cost-effective. Hydrometallurgical techniques are widely used in ore treatment, whereas soil remediation applications are rare. This chapter outlines two variants of an electroleaching process and gives an overview of its thermodynamic fundamentals. Model calculations are presented as well as results from laboratory experiments.