JP2001140026A - Method for recovering mercury from mercury-containing waste - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for recovering mercury from mercury-containing waste with high energy efficiency. SOLUTION: This method is provided with a stage for separating mercury from the mercury-containing waste placed in a reducing atomosphere, a stage for collecting mercury, a stage for vaporizing the collected mercury, a stage for cooling and condensing the vaporized mercury and a stage for recovering the cooled and condensed mercury.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention belongs to the field of waste treatment and resource recycling, and more particularly to a method for efficiently removing mercury from mercury-containing waste and recovering high-purity mercury.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, to remove gaseous mercury from mercury-containing waste, gaseous mercury is directly passed through a mercury vapor adsorbent for removal. This method has a disadvantage that mercury, which is a useful resource, cannot be recovered only by removing mercury from mercury-containing waste. In addition, mercury compounds adhering to solid waste in small amounts are often landfilled as they are.

[0003] There is also a method in which a solid waste is heated to a high temperature of 800 ° C or more, and a mercury compound is thermally decomposed and separated and removed as mercury vapor. However, it has to be heated to a high temperature of 800 ° C. or higher, which has the disadvantages of low energy efficiency and high processing cost.

On the other hand, mercury mixed in a liquid is oxidized and adsorbed as mercury ions on a chelate-adsorbing resin, and is treated at a final disposal site. In this method, it is difficult to recover mercury adsorbed on the chelate adsorption resin. Also,
A method of collecting mercury salts such as mercury sulfate has also been proposed. However, these methods have a problem that high-purity mercury cannot be obtained.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method for efficiently and inexpensively separating mercury and a method for recovering high-purity mercury from mercury-containing waste.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a separation step of placing a mercury-containing waste under a reducing atmosphere, and reducing and vaporizing mercury contained in the mercury-containing waste to separate it as gaseous mercury. A method for collecting mercury from mercury-containing waste, comprising a collecting step of collecting separated gaseous mercury as a mercury compound by an adsorbing substance.

Further, according to the present invention, a separation step of placing a mercury-containing waste under a reducing atmosphere and selectively reducing and vaporizing mercury contained in the mercury-containing waste to separate it as gaseous mercury. A collecting step of collecting the separated gaseous mercury as a mercury compound on an adsorbent, a vaporizing step of vaporizing the collected mercury compound to obtain gaseous mercury, and cooling and condensing the gaseous mercury A method for recovering mercury from mercury-containing waste, comprising a cooling step and a recovery step of recovering the cooled and condensed mercury as liquid mercury.

The vaporizing step may include a reducing vaporizing step of placing the collected mercury compound in a reducing atmosphere at room temperature, or the vaporizing step may include heating and vaporizing the collected mercury compound. Preferably, a step is included.

Further, when the mercury-containing waste is in a sludge or liquid form, the reducing atmosphere is
A liquid atmosphere containing a reducing agent having an oxidation-reduction potential lower than that of mercury ions or mercury complex ions is preferable. In this case, it is preferable that the separation step includes an aeration step of aerating gaseous mercury reduced and vaporized in a liquid atmosphere to make a transition from a liquid phase to a gaseous phase.

When the mercury-containing waste is in a solid form, the reducing atmosphere is preferably a reducing gas atmosphere, and the separating step preferably includes a step of heating the mercury-containing waste. . In this case, it is preferable that the vaporizing step further includes a heating vaporizing step of heating the collected mercury compound.

In the present invention, the term “mercury-containing waste” refers to a waste containing mercury in the form of atomic mercury, mercury ions, or mercury compounds. Regardless of whether it is a liquid or a gas,
Sludge may be used.

The reducing atmosphere is an atmosphere containing a reducing substance, and may be a gas atmosphere or a liquid atmosphere. As the reducing gas atmosphere, a reducing gas atmosphere mainly containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons such as methanol, ethylene, propane and the like as a main gas component can be preferably exemplified. Reducing liquid atmospheres include stannous chloride solutions, stannous chloride solutions, alkaline hydrazine solutions, acidic sodium borohydride solutions, and liquids containing acidic powdered zinc, among which low toxicity and decomposition From the viewpoint of properties, an aqueous solution of a stannous salt, a hydrazine solution, or the like is preferably used.

[0013] The adsorbent used in the present invention includes:
It may be an adsorbing substance containing a substance that can react with mercury, which is known as a mercury absorbing agent or a mercury absorbing liquid, specifically, activated carbon on which sodium chloride or calcium chloride is supported, sulfuric acid permanganate Potassium solution, gold thin film coated particles and the like can be mentioned.

[0014]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
The present invention will be described in more detail, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mercury recovery system including a step of separating and collecting mercury from sludge or liquid form mercury-containing waste and a step of recovering the collected mercury.

The mercury recovery system 1 shown in FIG.
And a collecting unit 20, a vaporizing unit 30, a cooling unit 40, and a collecting unit 50. The separation unit 10 includes an acid- and alkali-resistant separation container 11, a lid 12 for maintaining the inside of the separation container 11 in a closed state, and a stirring unit 13. Separation container 11
Inside, a predetermined amount of a stannous chloride solution and a mercury-containing waste in a sludge or fine solid form are held as a reducing liquid atmosphere. In this liquid atmosphere, a gas introduction line L1 provided through the lid 12 in an airtight state is provided.
, Hydrogen gas and / or an inert gas are introduced from a gas source S1 provided outside. here,
As the inert gas, nitrogen gas, argon gas and the like can be preferably used, but nitrogen gas is particularly preferable in terms of price. Between the separation unit 10 and the collection unit 20,
A gaseous mercury line L2 is provided, and the gaseous mercury separated in the separation unit 10 is transferred to the collection unit 20.

An adsorbing substance 21 in which activated carbon carries sodium chloride, calcium chloride, or the like is held in the trapping section 20, and traps gaseous mercury as a mercury compound.

Taking the mercury sulfide (HgS) contained in the waste as an example, the following reaction occurs in the separation section 10. _{^{HgS + 2H + → H 2 S}} + Hg 2+ Hg 2+ + Sn 2+ → Hg + Sn 4+

The vaporizing section 30 has a vaporizing vessel 31 and a lid 32 for keeping the inside thereof closed. Vaporization vessel 31
Inside, an appropriate amount of a stannous chloride salt solution that forms a liquid atmosphere as a reducing atmosphere is held. Vaporization vessel 31
Inside, via a second inert gas introduction line L3,
An inert gas is introduced from an inert gas source S2 provided outside. A mercury line L4 is provided between the vaporizing section 30 and the cooling section 40 so that gaseous mercury vaporized in the vaporizing section 30 can be transferred to the cooling section 40. It is preferable that the mercury line L4 is provided with a dehumidifying unit 60 to remove moisture accompanying the vaporized mercury.

The cooling section 40 includes a cooling vessel 41 for holding a coolant maintained at a temperature equal to or lower than the melting point of mercury (-39 ° C.). The mercury line L4 is composed of a substantially U-shaped hollow tube 42, a part of which is accommodated in the cooling container 41. The gaseous mercury passing through the inside of the U-shaped inner space 42 is cooled and condensed and undergoes a phase transition to solid mercury. And is fixed to the inner wall of the hollow tube 42.

The recovery section 50 is composed of a recovery tank for receiving a mercury line L4 extending to the tip of the U-shaped hollow tube 42. Next, a mercury recovery method according to the first embodiment using the recovery system will be described.

In the present embodiment, the mercury-containing waste in the separation step is in the form of sludge, and the reducing atmosphere is chloride as a reducing substance having a redox potential lower than the redox potential of mercury ions or mercury complex ions. This is a liquid atmosphere containing a stannous solution or the like. In consideration of the toxicity of by-products generated by treatment in a reducing atmosphere, it is preferable to use the mercury-containing waste in the form of mercury oxide. Even if it is contained in the form of mercury, it may be subjected to pre-treatment and post-treatment to suppress the generation of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen sulfide. That is, when the mercury-containing waste contains a mercury salt, a neutralization step of neutralizing the acid to be reproduced is performed.
It is preferably performed as a pre-treatment or a post-treatment. On this occasion,
In the neutralization step, a known neutralization technique can be used without any particular limitation. When a large amount of HgS is contained, it is preferable to make H ₂ S and Hg ²⁺ with hydrogen ions as pretreatment.

Here, the concentration of the reducing substance in the solution is not particularly limited, and the amount of the reducing substance may be 1 mol or more per 1 mol of mercury atoms contained in the mercury-containing waste. When the contact ratio is increased, the reduction reaction rate is increased.

The conditions for the reduction and vaporization are as follows:
It is preferable that the reaction time is 30 ° C. and the reaction time is 2 to 3 hours.
Since the reduction vaporization is carried out in a reducing atmosphere, the temperature can be carried out at a normal temperature. Therefore, the recovery method of the present embodiment is excellent in the energy efficiency of the reaction.

The above-mentioned separation step includes an aeration step of aerating gaseous mercury reduced and vaporized in a liquid atmosphere to change from a liquid phase to a gaseous phase. In the aeration step, the inert gas is separated
This is done by introducing In addition, the introduction speed of the inert gas at this time is preferably 1 which is SV (space velocity) = 1 (1 / hour). Here, SV (1 / hour) is a gas introduction rate necessary for replacing the volume per hour with a volume equivalent to the volume of the filler.

The collecting step is performed in the collecting section 20.
The gaseous mercury transferred via the gaseous mercury line L2 is adsorbed by the adsorbing substance 21 in the collection unit 20 and collected as a mercury compound. Specifically, for example, in the case of using an adsorbent in which calcium chloride, sodium chloride, or the like is supported on the activated carbon, gaseous mercury reacts with calcium chloride or sodium chloride to form a mercury chloride complex on the activated carbon. Adsorbed and collected. The amount of the adsorbing substance used is preferably such that the amount of the substance capable of reacting with mercury in the adsorbing substance is at least 40 mol per 1 mol of gaseous mercury. Further, the adsorption in the collection unit 20 can be performed at a temperature of 15 to 30 ° C. until the adsorbent breaks through a mercury monitor (not shown) provided on the downstream side.

The vaporizing step is performed in the vaporizing section 30. Here, in the collecting step, the adsorbed substance 21 having collected the mercury compound is introduced into a liquid atmosphere composed of a solution of a reducing substance such as stannous chloride dissolved at room temperature in the vaporizing vessel 31 of the vaporizing section 30. I do. That is, the vaporization step includes a reduction vaporization step of placing the collected mercury compound under a reducing atmosphere at room temperature. The amount of the reducing substance used in the liquid atmosphere at this time is preferably 10 mol or more per 1 mol of mercury adsorbed on the adsorbing substance. The reaction conditions in this step are as follows: temperature is room temperature, and time is 15 to 15.
Preferably, it is 30 minutes. In this vaporization step, the mercury compound trapped by the adsorbed substance is reduced and vaporized in a liquid reducing atmosphere to become gaseous mercury.

The cooling step is performed in the cooling section 40.
Liquid nitrogen, dry ice, liquid helium, or the like is used as a cooling agent used for the cooling unit 40. Further, the temperature of the coolant may be a temperature of −39 ° C. or less, but is preferably −40 to −45 ° C. Here, the gaseous mercury obtained in the vaporization step is transferred to the cooling unit 40 via the mercury line L4, is cooled and condensed in the cooling unit 40, and is U-shaped hollow placed inside the cooling container 41. It sticks to the inner wall of the pipe.

The collecting step is performed in the collecting section 50.
In the cooling step, the U-shaped hollow tube 42 to which mercury is fixed is pulled out of the cooling container 41 and is kept at room temperature for 30 minutes to 30 minutes.
Leave for 1 hour. Note that this time can be shortened by ventilating the outer wall of the U-shaped hollow tube 42 with a blower or the like. At normal temperature, mercury is liquefied and stays inside the U-shaped hollow tube 42, so the tip of the U-shaped hollow tube 42 is inclined into the collection tank and collected in the collection tank 50.

According to the recovery method of this embodiment, high-purity mercury can be efficiently separated and recovered from mercury-containing waste. That is, twice in the separation step and the vaporization step,
Since mercury compounds are vaporized under a reducing atmosphere and an adsorption step is provided between the separation step and the vaporization step to perform adsorption, mercury can be separated at a lower temperature than conventional methods, and further, mercury is condensed and separated in a cooling step. Therefore, high-purity mercury can be recovered with high energy efficiency. Further, the separation step and the collection step,
For example, it can be performed in a landfill, and the vaporization, cooling and recovery steps can be performed outside the landfill, for example in a factory.

Next, a method for recovering mercury from solid mercury-containing waste will be described as a second embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, points different from the above-described first embodiment will be particularly described in detail. For the points that are not particularly described in detail, the description in the above-described first embodiment is appropriately applied.

First, FIG. 2 used in this embodiment
The mercury recovery system 101 shown in FIG. FIG.
The mercury recovery system 101 includes a separating unit 110, a collecting unit 120, a vaporizing unit 130, a cooling unit 140, and a collecting unit 1
50.

In the mercury recovery system 101 of this embodiment, the separation unit 110 includes an acid- and alkali-resistant separation container 111, a lid 112 for sealing the inside of the separation container 111 in an airtight and pressure-resistant state, and a stirring means 113. And separation container 1
11 is a metal container including a heating means 114 for heating the inside of the container 11 and a metal net 115 made of, for example, stainless steel provided at the lower part of the container.
1 and an opening (not shown) for penetrating the gaseous mercury line L2. The separation vessel 111 includes an inert gas from an inert gas source S11 such as a nitrogen cylinder and a reducing gas source S12 such as a carbon monoxide cylinder or a hydrogen cylinder.
And a reducing gas introduction line L11 that mixes and introduces a reducing gas from the reactor. The mixing ratio between the inert gas and the reducing gas may be such that the reducing gas is contained in the inert gas at or below the explosion limit of the reducing gas.
Preferably, the mixture is made to be 1 to 4% for hydrogen gas and 3 to 12.5% for carbon monoxide gas.

Here, the wire mesh 115 is provided so as to penetrate the tip of the reducing gas introduction line L11 so that the tip of the reducing gas introduction line L11 is located below the wire mesh 115. The solid form mercury-containing waste is positioned above 115, and the mixed gas of the reducing gas and the inert gas introduced from the reduction year gas introduction line L11 is diffused throughout the solid form mercury-containing waste. Works. A mixer M11 for mixing the inert gas and the reducing gas is provided in the reducing gas introduction line L11. Further, by providing the stirring means 113, the mixture of the reducing gas and the inert gas can be sufficiently diffused throughout the mercury-containing waste, but the stirring means 113 may be omitted.

The collecting section 120 and the vaporizing section 130 are provided in the same container 131. That is, the collection unit 120
Is an adsorbed substance filled in the container, and is a portion filled with impregnated activated carbon carrying sodium chloride or calcium chloride or the like and gold thin film-coated particles to be collected as gold amalgam. The vaporizing section 130 is a container 13
1 heating means 13 such as an electric heater wound outside
2 inclusive.

The heating means 114 and 132 may be formed by an electric heater or a flow path of a heating medium such as steam provided in the wall of the separation vessel 111. Since the cooling unit 140 and the collecting unit 150 are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description is omitted.

Air cooling units C1 and C2 are provided between the separation unit 110 and the collection unit 120 and between the vaporization unit 130 and the cooling unit 140, respectively. The temperature of the gaseous mercury obtained by heating is lowered. This is because the collection unit 120 and the cooling unit 140
Absorption of the adsorbent due to the introduction of hot gaseous mercury,
This is to prevent a decrease in the adhering capacity and the cooling capacity of the coolant, and to efficiently collect and cool even a small amount of the adsorbent and the coolant. Of course, these air cooling sections C1 and C2 can be omitted.

The method for recovering mercury according to this embodiment is as follows.
Placing the mercury-containing waste under a reducing atmosphere, selectively separating and evaporating the mercury contained in the mercury-containing waste drug into gaseous mercury, and separating the separated gaseous mercury by an adsorbent. A collecting step of collecting the mercury compound, a vaporizing step of vaporizing the collected mercury compound to obtain gaseous mercury, a cooling step of cooling and condensing the gaseous mercury, and And a recovery step of recovering liquid mercury.

More specifically, in the separation step,
The mercury-containing waste is in a solid form, the reducing atmosphere is a reducing gas atmosphere, and the separating step includes a step of heating the mercury-containing waste.

The heating temperature during the reduction vaporization is 2
The temperature is preferably from 00 to 300 ° C. The reaction time is preferably 15 to 30 minutes. The collecting step, the cooling step, and the collecting step can be performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

The vaporizing step includes a heating vaporizing step of heating the collected mercury compound (here, gold amalgam). Here, it is preferable to heat at 500 to 600 ° C. for 3 to 10 minutes, and gaseous mercury is desorbed from the adsorbed substance.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, even if the mercury-containing compound is in a sludge or liquid form, heating can be performed in the separation step and the vaporization step, and even if the mercury-containing waste is in a solid form, the treatment and recovery can be performed without heating. Can be.

In each embodiment, if suction is performed from the cooling unit side using a pump or the like, each step can be performed continuously, and high-purity gaseous mercury generated in the separation step can be removed. It is also possible to collect as it is without obtaining the step.

[0044]

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to specific examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

Example 1 Mercury was recovered from sludge-like waste containing mercury using the apparatus shown in FIG. That is, the sludge-like waste is put into the separation vessel 11, and water is added so as to slightly impart fluidity. One liter of a 1% stannous chloride solution (10 g of stannous chloride dissolved in 1 liter of 1% sulfuric acid or sodium hydroxide) is added thereto, and the mixture is slowly stirred by the stirring means 15. An inert gas from an external inert gas source is supplied through the inert gas line L1 to the inside of the separation vessel 11 at 1.5 liter / m 2.
The gas flows in at a flow rate of in, and a stannous chloride solution which is a liquid reducing atmosphere is aerated. The separated gaseous mercury was removed by an external pump (not shown) to about 2 liters //
The gas is forcibly sucked to the collection unit 20 via the gaseous mercury line L2 at a flow rate of min. By continuing this operation for a few hours, it is collected and condensed on the adsorbed substance in the collection unit 20.

Next, the adsorbed material from which the mercury has been collected is transferred to the vaporizing section 30 which holds a 1% sulfuric acid solution of 1% stannous chloride which forms a liquid reducing atmosphere, and the inside of the vaporizing section 30 contains external impurities. An inert gas such as a nitrogen gas is introduced from the active gas source S2 and left at normal temperature for 5 to 30 minutes to obtain gaseous mercury. Next, gaseous mercury is forcibly transferred to the cooling unit 40 via the mercury line L4 by a pump (not shown) provided outside. The gaseous mercury is forcibly cooled by a coolant such as liquid nitrogen held in the reject container 41 and adheres to the inner wall of the U-shaped hollow tube 42. Next, the U-shaped hollow tube 42 is pulled out of the cooling container 41 and brought to room temperature for 3 hours.
The liquid mercury is collected in the collection tank 50 by leaving it for 0 minute to 1 hour. At this time, the U-shaped hollow tube 42 is placed in the collection tank 5
The liquid mercury flows down into the recovery tank 50 by its own weight by tilting so that the leading end on the zero side is downward. The inert gas introduced from the inert gas source S2 is exhausted from L4 to the outside.

Example 2 Solid mercury-containing waste was treated using the recovery system shown in FIG. 2 to recover mercury.

That is, after the waste is put into the separation vessel 111, the lid is closed, and the mixture is sealed with a nitrogen gas from the inert gas source S1 and a hydrogen or carbon monoxide from the reducing gas source S2. 0.5 with respect to 100 parts by weight of nitrogen gas
混合 1 part by weight, and the mixture is sent to the lower part of the separation container 111 via the reducing gas introduction line L11 to remove air and to make a reducing atmosphere. Thereafter, the flow rate of the entire reducing gas was reduced to a low flow rate of about 100 m1 / min,
The separation container 111 is heated to about 200 to 300 ° C. by an electric heater. At this time, the mercury compound is vaporized as mercury vapor.

The vaporized mercury vapor has a length of 5 m and an inner diameter of 1 c.
The container 131 which comprises the collection part 120 and the vaporization part 130 via the gaseous mercury line L2 which consists of a cooling metal pipe of m.
Will be introduced. At this time, suction may be performed by a pump (not shown). The collection unit 120 is filled in a container 131 with impregnated activated carbon carrying sodium chloride or calcium chloride as an adsorbing substance and gold thin film-coated particles to be collected as gold amalgam.

Then, while passing an inert gas from the inert gas source S1 such as a nitrogen cylinder at a flow rate of about 50 m1 / min into the container 131, the inert gas is heated at 550 to 600 ° C. by heating means 132 such as an electric heater. Heating is performed for about 5 minutes to vaporize the mercury trapped in the trapping section 120, that is, the adsorbed substance.

Next, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is introduced into the collection unit 120 from an external inert gas source S2 such as nitrogen gas, and gaseous mercury flows into the mercury line L4. The cooling container 141 of the cooling unit 140 contains liquid nitrogen at about −40 ° C. The U-shaped hollow tube 142, which is a part of the mercury line L4, is positioned in the cooling container 141, and is left for about 5 minutes to solidify mercury on the inner wall of the U-shaped hollow tube 142.

Next, the U-shaped hollow tube 142 is connected to the cooling vessel 1
Then, the liquid mercury is recovered in the recovery tank 150 in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

[0053]

According to the present invention, high-purity mercury can be separated and recovered at low cost and efficiently by vaporizing it in a reducing atmosphere. In particular, in the conventional method,
Mercury that sticks and is difficult to separate, and mercury compounds in sludge,
For example, mercury can be efficiently separated and recovered from organic mercury.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view schematically showing a system used in a method for recovering mercury from sludge or liquid mercury-containing waste. Here, (a) shows a separation step and a collection step, and (b) shows a vaporization step, a cooling step, and a recovery step.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view schematically showing a system used for a method of recovering mercury from solid mercury-containing waste. Here, (a) shows a separation step, a collection step and a vaporization step, and (b) shows a cooling step and a recovery step.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Mercury recovery system for sludge 10 Separation unit 20 Collection unit 30 Vaporization unit 40 Cooling unit 50 Recovery unit 101 Mercury recovery system for solids 110 Separation unit 120 Collection unit 130 Vaporization unit 140 Cooling unit 150 Recovery unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 4D004 AA00 AA50 AB03 AC05 BA05 CA22 CA32 CA37 CA47 CC01 CC11 CC12 DA02 DA03 DA06 DA10 DA12 4D059 AA12 BF20 BH03 BK16 CA14 DA35 DA46 DA61 DA70 EB10 4K001 AA14 BA14 BA21 CA16 DA07

Claims (6)

[Claims] A mercury-containing waste is placed in a reducing atmosphere, and the mercury contained in the mercury-containing waste is reduced and vaporized to be separated as gaseous mercury, and the separated gaseous mercury is adsorbed. A method for recovering mercury from mercury-containing waste, comprising a collecting step of collecting as a mercury compound by a substance. 2. A separation step of placing a mercury-containing waste under a reducing atmosphere, reducing and evaporating mercury contained in the mercury-containing waste to separate it as gaseous mercury, and adsorbing the separated gaseous mercury. A collecting step of collecting as a mercury compound by the substance, a vaporizing step of vaporizing the collected mercury compound to obtain gaseous mercury, a cooling step of cooling and condensing the gaseous mercury, and a cooling step of cooling and condensing Recovering mercury from liquid waste containing mercury as liquid mercury. 3. The mercury recovery from a mercury-containing waste according to claim 2, wherein the vaporizing step includes a reducing vaporizing step of placing the collected mercury compound under a reducing atmosphere at room temperature. Method. 4. The method for recovering mercury from mercury-containing waste according to claim 2, wherein the vaporizing step includes a heating vaporizing step of heating the collected mercury compound. 5. The mercury-containing waste is in a sludge or liquid form, and the reducing atmosphere is a liquid atmosphere containing a reducing substance having a redox potential lower than the redox potential of mercury ions or mercury complex ions. The mercury-containing waste according to claim 2, wherein the separation step includes an aeration step of aerating gaseous mercury reduced and vaporized in a liquid atmosphere to cause a transition from a liquid phase to a gaseous phase. Mercury recovery method. 6. The mercury-containing waste is in a solid form,
The method for recovering mercury from mercury-containing waste according to claim 1, wherein the reducing atmosphere is a reducing gas atmosphere, and the separating step includes a step of heating the mercury-containing waste.