Stabilization/solidification (S/S) of mercury-contaminated hazardous wastes using thiol-functionalized zeolite and...

Stabilization/solidification (S/S) of mercury-containing solid wastes using thiol-functionalized zeolite and cement was investigated in this study. The thiol-functionalized zeolite (TFZ) used in the study was obtained by grafting the thiol group (-SH) to the natural clinoptilolite zeolites, and the mercury adsorption by TFZ was investigated. TFZ was used to stabilize mercury in solid wastes, and then the stabilized wastes were subjected to cement solidification to test the effectiveness of the whole S/S process. The results show that TFZ has a high level of -SH content (0.562 mmol g(-1)) and the adsorption of mercury by TFZ conform to the Freundlich adsorption isotherm. The mercury adsorption capacity is greatly enhanced upon thiol grafting, the maximum of which is increased from 0.041 mmol Hg g(-1) to 0.445 mmol Hg g(-1). TFZ is found to be effective in stabilizing Hg in the waste surrogate. In the stabilization process, the optimum pH for the stabilization reaction is about 5.0. The optimum TFZ dosage is about 5% and the optimum cement dosage is about 100%. Though Cl(-) and PO(4)(3-) have negative effects on mercury adsorption by TFZ, the Portland cement solidification of TFZ stabilized surrogates containing 1000 mg Hg/kg can successfully pass the TCLP leaching test. It can be concluded that the stabilization/solidification process using TFZ and Portland cement is an effective technology to treat and dispose mercury-containing wastes.