Thermogravimetric and XRD study of the effects of chloride salts on the thermal decomposition of mercury compounds

In this paper, the effects of chloride salt (MgCl₂, CaCl₂ or NaCl) addition on the thermal decomposition of five inorganic mercury compounds (HgCl₂, HgS, Hg(NO₃)₂·H₂O, HgO, and HgSO₄) were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. Mercury-contaminated soil samples collected from Inner Mongolia were used to verify the results. The desorption temperatures of the mercury compounds increased in the following order: HgCl = HgCl₂ < HgS < Hg(NO₃)₂·H₂O < HgO < HgSO₄. Among the chloride salts, MgCl₂ had the greatest effect on thermal desorption of the mercury compounds, with the greatest reduction in the initial temperature of thermal desorption. After MgCl₂ treatment, the mercury removal rates for the soil were 65.67–81.35 % (sample A), 70.74–84.91 % (sample B), and 69.08 % (sample C). The increase in the mercury removal rate for sample C with addition of MgCl₂ was particularly large (34.96–69.08 %). X-Ray diffraction analysis of white crystals from the thermal desorption with MgCl₂ indicated that MgCl₂ promoted conversion of the mercury compounds in the soil to mercury(II) chloride and dimercury dichloride. This transformation is beneficial for applying thermal desorption to remedy mercury-contaminated soils and treat of mercury containing waste.