Investigate of Mercury Contents in Different Spent Fluorescent Lamps in Iran

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages: 762-765

J. Environ. Treat. Tech.

ISSN: 2309-1185

Journal web link: http://www.jett.dormaj.com

Investigate of Mercury Contents in Different Spent

Fluorescent Lamps in Iran

Hosein Alidadi , Rahim Aali , Fatemeh Kariminejad , Mohammad Aali Dehchenari , Hadi

Farsiani , Reza Abdollahzadeh , Monavvar Afzal-Aghaee , Aliakbar Dehghan , Samaneh

Gohari⁹

Professor, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical

Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Assistant Professor, Research Center for Environmental Pollutants, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran

MSc of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

BSc of Mechanic Engineering, Young Researchers and Elite Club, Majlesi Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran

Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Virology, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Research expert, Waste Management Organization of Mashhad Municipality, Mashhad, Iran

Associate Professor, Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

Professor, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical

Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

MSc Student of Environmental Health Engineering, student of Research Committee, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences,

Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

The usage of fluorescent lamps is increasingly common in the world. The advantages of these lamps have led to consuming these

kinds of lamps compared to incandescent lamps. But disposal of the fluorescent lamps because of containing heavy metals such as

mercury is considered. The objective of this study is to confirm the comparison of mercury concentration in different linear and compact

fluorescent lamps made in Iran. This study was conducted on two kinds of spent fluorescent lamps in Mashhad city in Iran. Lamp crusher

(LAMPA) was introduced as an eco-friendly method for obtaining the phosphor powder. Extracting mercury was done by acid leaching

method. Mercury concentration was determined by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry. Mercury concentration in five kinds of

spent fluorescent lamps T8, T10, CFL23W, CFL15W, and CFL11W was 372.52, 510.53, 55.65, 175.53 and 260.82 ppb, respectively.

There are differences between Hg concentration and phosphor powder that might be due to some factors like the year of manufacture

and the hours of operation. According to the Hg concentration from the powder and generation rate of the spent fluorescent lamps in the

world and Iran, waste management of spent fluorescent lamps is necessary.

Keywords: Mercury, Phosphor Powder, Spent Fluorescent Lamps, Waste Management, Lamp Crusher Machine

problems. About 620 million fluorescent lamps are discarded

Introduction¹

in the United States annually; many of them are broken during

disposal. This amount distributes approximately 2-4 tons of Hg

per year in the United States (11). The number of CFLs

discarded in Iran in 2010, 2011, and 2012 was 159.802,

In recent years, spent fluorescent lamps (SFLs) have been

widely used in Iran as a means of optimizing energy

consumption (1). SFLs are a type of lamps with a glass tube

coated with fluorescent materials (mainly as calcium hydrogen

phosph ate) that are filled with an inert gas (usually argon) and

Hg (2, 3). It is estimated that, in the best condition, a normal

fluorescent lamp contains about 30-40 mg of Hg that most of

which is absorbed in the phosphor powders, aluminum, end

caps and glass (4, 5).

83.822, and 153.756 million per year, respectively. It is

estimated that generation rates in 2013-2020 would probably

vary from 163.621 million to 174.431 million annually.

According to the population of Iran (75 million people), the

waste generation rate of CFLs in this country was determined

to be 2.05 per person in 2012 (12). In Mashhad city, the

generation rate of spent compact and linear fluorescent lamps

The end-of-life fluorescent lamps typically last for over

,000 hours, during which they have no threat to human health

(

CFLs and LFLs) was 6656 and 2180 thousand per year,

respectively.

Currently, most researchers have focused on increasing

and the environment, while people may be exposed to toxic

levels of the Hg vapor released from the broken lamps(6).

Animals and humans exposed to broken compact fluorescent

lamps as they absorb 80-97% of the inhaled Hg through lungs,

leading to a potential risk of cross blood-brain-barrier between

the placenta and the fetus (7, 8). The dangers of SFLs are quite

serious due to their Hg content (9, 10). The amount of SFLs

produced in Iran is a national problem and, if not managed in

the future, may cause serious environmental and human

recovery and recycling levels of these lamps for direct re use

and reducing the impact from Hg at end-of-life SFLs (7, 13-

5). Among different methods proposed for their recovery and

recycling, electrochemistry, chemical precipita tion and

extraction (16-19), micro bial bioremediation (20, 21), and

thermal desorption (17, 22) have been widely used as wet

Corresponding author: Samaneh Gohari, MSc Student of Environmental Health Engineering, student of Research Committee, School

of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. TEL:+989159109148, FAX: 38522775, E-mail:

Samanehgohari@gmail.com.

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages: 762-765

chemical analysis methods (17). Due to the massive cost of

chemicals and the production of chemical waste substances, a

limited number of studies have been conducted on introducing

a high-performance, easy, inexpensive, and eco-friendly

method for recycling and recovery of Hg from SFLs.

Accordingly, the main objectives in the present study, a dry

chemical analysis method is introduced to utilize minimize Hg

emissions to the atmosphere, determining the concentration of

Hg in phosphor powder different spent fluorescent lamps and

waste management of spent fluorescent lamps in the world,

Iran, and Mashhad city as the second metropolis of Iran.

Whatman 42. Spent compact and linear fluorescent lamps were

provided from Afratab and Pars Shahab brands. The

specifications of these lamps are displayed in Table 1.

2.2 Instrumentation

2.2.1 Lamp crusher machine (LAMPA)

This lamp crusher shown in Fig. 1. Removes Hg vapors,

eliminates the dangers of this metal, and turns the lamp into

small pieces. Cyclone filter, bag filter, carbon canister

assembly (Includes activated carbon granules with 15% yellow

sulfur and activated carbon filter), and HEPA filter are

employed in a crusher to prevent the release of dust and vapors

of Hg. More than 50% of phosphor powder inside the lamps is

separated by cyclone filter. Fig. 2 illustrates the components

separated from SFLs by the lamp crusher. The advantages of

this apparatus include promoting the environment, ease of

removal and installation in different places, facile operation,

and no contamination in outlet air.

Materials and methods

.1 Materials

All chemicals used in this study were of analytical grade.

Hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, Tin (II) chloride, and Pure Plus

standard solution containing 1000 mg/l of Hg were obtained

from Merck. All samples were filtered by the paper filter from

Table 1: Specifications of the lamps used for this work

Luminous

flux

Lm)

2375

Lamp

life

(h)

10000

8000

Type of

tube

Length Diameter Power

Voltage

(V)

Kind of

lighting

Base

type

Brand

(mm)

(W)

(

T10

CFL 23W

CFL 15W

CFL 11W

Pars Shahab

Afratab

1200

100

170

130

140

230

Day Light

G 13

E 27

2470

1400

750

Day Light

600

Figure 1: Schematic of the machine used for crushing the lamps: 1) Input linear lamp, 2) Input compact lamp, 3) Electromotor, 4) Input gas and

phosphor powder, 5) Control part, and 6) Vapor Hg outlet

Figure 2: Output products of the lamp crusher: Separated aluminum (a), phosphor powder (b) and glass (c)

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages: 762-765

Table 2: Specification and main components of spent fluorescent lamps

specification

component

Phosphor powder

Separated glass

Separated phosphor powder

Base-cap

Mass (g)

2.56

193.4

1.26

T10

Mass (g)

3.1

210.9

1.55

CFL 23W

Mass (g)

2.12

CFL 15W

Mass (g)

0.96

19.04

0.47

CFL 11W

Mass (g)

0.98

19.02

0.48

41.8

1.03

Total (Tube)

200

220

.3 Sample preparation

This study was performed to determine the Hg combined in

from this machine is <0.01 ppm, which is following

environmental standards.

phosphor powder. In order to analyze the concentration of Hg

by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) with the manual

cold vapor (Varian-AA240FS) and Vapor Generation

Accessory (VGA), it is needed to use the Hg extraction method

that permits it to be dissolved in a liquid solution. In this study,

acid leaching was employed as an extraction method.

3.2 Hg concentration inside phosphor powder in different

SFLs

The total amount of separated phosphor powder by

crushing machine was used for each lamp. It shows the amount

of Hg in each lamp in the ratio of 4HCl:1HNO . Mercury

concentration in phosphor powder in each lamp are displayed

in Table 3. Our analysis demonstrated that these data were

significant at the 0.05 level.

.3.1 Extraction and measurement of Hg in the phosphor

powder

Hg extraction was done for five kinds of SFLs. The ratio of

mixed acid 4HCl:1HNO (0.48 HCl mol/L: 0.15 HNO mol/L)

Table 3: Mercury concentration in phosphor powder of CFLs

and LFLs

was used for Hg extraction. The phosphor powder from each

lamp was weighed and poured into the volumetric flask; 4 ml

from hydrochloric acid (37% v/v HCL) and 1 ml nitric acid

Types of lamps

Hg concentration (ppb)

375.52±6.7

(68% v/v HNO

) were added. The solution was diluted using

510.53±0.5

T10

distilled water up to 100 ml in each volumetric flask. The

samples were located on a shaker at the room temperature for

55.65±6.7

175.53±6.6

260.82±0.02

CFL 23W

CFL 15W

CFL 11W

4 h and 3 RPM. Afterward, the solutions were filtered by the

paper filter and then the samples were preserved in a

refrigerator at -4℃ until analyzed by CVAAS. For the analysis

of Hg by VGA method, the standard solutions were prepared in

The literature revie w sh owe d about 80% of Hg exists in

phosphor powder (8, 17, 23, 24). For this reason, Hg in

phosphor powder is an important source of public health

concern when these lamps are broken (17). Also, the results of

the Korea Extraction Method (KET) and Toxicity

Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) tests showed that

phosphor powder should be managed as a hazardous waste but

base-cap and glass are not classified as hazardous waste (24).

Our results demonstrated, the separated phosphor powder in

LFLs T10, and T8 was 1.55 g and 1.26 g, respectively. The

mercury concentration in T10 was 510.53 ppb while in T8 it

was 375.52 ppb. So, it can be stated that the more available the

phosphor powder, the higher the amount of mercury would be.

In other words, there is more mercury in fluorescent lamps in

the phosphor powder because the mercury is involved in the

process of lighting (24). Comparison of mercury distribution in

LFLs between our results and study by S.-W. Rhee et al. 2014

are displayed in Table 4. On the contrary, in the CFL 11W, the

amount of phosphor powder was lower, but the mercury

concentration was high compared to the other CFLs. Such a

difference can be explained by the previous studies that during

the use of lamps elemental mercury from the vapor phase

diffuses onto aluminum end caps or glass matrices but

phosphor powder prevents the mercury from being absorbed

into the glass (8, 17). The results of this study about the Hg

concentration in phosphor powder in CFLs similar to the study

by Rey-Raap and Gallardo 2012. The point is that we do not

have information about the life of the lamps used, so

differences between the lamps might be due to factors like the

year of manufacture, the hours of operation, type of the lam ps

and the processes of the separation by the recyclers (11, 17, 23-

5, 30, 45, 60, and 80 µg/L. For the reducing agent, Tin (II)

chloride (20% w/v SnCl ) and for the oxidizing agent,

deionized water was used.

.4 Statistical analysis

The One-Way ANOVA test was conducted at 0.05

significance level to compare Hg concentration in different

types of lamps by SPSS 16, the type of lamp had been assumed

as a nominal measure and their concentration been as scale

measure.

Result and Discussion

.1 Specification and component of SFLs

Output products including the glass, the aluminum, and the

phosphor powder are separated by the lamp crusher. The

aluminum and the glass were recycled and the phosphor

powder was converted to phosphoric acid and Hg sulfide was

reused in industries. Specification and main components of

SFLs are displayed in Table 2. CFLs have no aluminum, so in

these lamps, the circuit is separated from the lamps at first and

then sent to the machine. This lamp crusher is designed to

reduce the volume of the lamps, which means that the lamps

are crushed before being introduced into the factory by the

primary recycling machine to prevent the environmental

hazards of these wastes. By reducing the volume, service costs

such as transportation decline to about 80%. The products

obtained from this machine included vapor mercury, phosphor

powder, and glass. Vapor mercury is captured by an activated

carbon filter and HEPA filter. Finally, the air output of this

machine is free of any contamination. Therefore, the HEPA

filter provides clean air standard. The vapor mercury outlet

6).

Journal of Environmental Treatment Techniques

2020, Volume 8, Issue 2, Pages: 762-765

Table 4: Comparison between the amounts of mercury in phosphor powder in LFLs

Specification component

Spent T8 (this work)

Spent T10 (this work)

LFL-A(24)

LFL-B(24)

LFL-C(24)

Separated Phosphor powder

375.52 (ppb)

510.53 (ppb)

1348.223 (ppm)

1746.353 (ppm)

1525.742 (ppm)

Raposo C, Windmöller CC, Junior WAD. Mercury speciation in

fluorescent lamps by thermal release analysis. Waste Management.

Conclusions

The present study was conducted to introduce a lamp

003;23.86-87ꢁ:)1ꢀ(

crusher machine (LAMPA) as one of the methods for reducing

the volume of the lamps for primary recycling. The machine

separated phosphor powder from these lamps, which contained

ꢁ

Dos Santos ÉJ, Herrmann AB, Vieira F, Sato CS, Corrêa QB,

Maranhão TA, et al. Determination of Hg and Pb in compact

fluorescent lamp by slurry sampling inductively coupled plasma

optical emission spectrometry. Microchemical Journal.

2010;9.31-27:)1(6

0% Hg. Acid leaching was applied for extracting Hg from the

powder. Five kinds of SFLs were used for extracting Hg by the

ratio of 4HCl:1HNO . According to the Hg concentration from

ꢀ. Chang T-C, Wang S-F, You S-J, Cheng A. Characterization of

halophosphate phosphor powders recovered from the spent

fluorescent lamps. Journal of Environmental Engineering and

Management. 2007;17(6):435.

the powder and generation rate of the SFLs in the world and

Iran, waste management of this kind of lamps is necessary.

1. Aucott M, McLinden M, Winka M. Release of mercury from

broken fluorescent bulbs. Journal of the Air & Waste Management

Association. 2003;53(2):143-51.

2. Taghipour H, Amjad Z, Jafarabadi MA, Gholampour A, Nowrouz

P. Determining heavy metals in spent compact fluorescent lamps

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the research committee of

Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (Project No 951339),

Mehrpardazan Mohitzist Samin Company (MMSCO) and

(

CFLs) and their waste management challenges: some strategies

for improving current conditions. Waste management.

014;34(7):1251-6.

Waste

Management

Organization

Mashhad

Municipality. Acknowledgements are due to the laboratory

staff of the Department of Environmental Health Engineering

for their collaboration.

3. Hu Y, Cheng H. Mercury risk from fluorescent lamps in China:

current status and future perspective. Environment International.

2.5ꢀ-44:141;ꢀ12

4. Logan TJ. Critical reviews in environmental science and

technology. 1997 0849311586.

5. Tan Q, Li J, Zeng X. Rare earth elements recovery from waste

fluorescent lamps: a review. Critical Reviews in Environmental

Science and Technology..76-74ꢁ:)7(45;2ꢀ15

6. Hu Z, Kurien U, Murwira K, Ghoshdastidar A, Nepotchatykh O,

Ariya PA. Development of a green technology for mercury

recycling from spent compact fluorescent lamps using iron oxides

nanoparticles and electrochemistry. ACS Sustainable Chemistry &

Engineering. 2016;4(4):2150-7.

Financial support and sponsorship

Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Authors’ contributions

All authors participated in the data collection, analysis and

interpretation. All authors critically reviewed, refined and

approved the manuscript.

7. Jang M, Hong SM, Park JK. Characterization and recovery of

mercury from spent fluorescent lamps. Waste management.

005;25(1):5-14.

8. Tunsu C, Ekberg C, Foreman M, Retegan T. Targeting fluorescent

lamp waste for the recovery of cerium, lanthanum, europium,

gadolinium, terbium and yttrium. Mineral Processing and

Extractive Metallurgy. 2016;125(4):199-203.

ꢁ. Wu Y, Yin X, Zhang Q, Wang W, Mu X. The recycling of rare

earths from waste tricolor phosphors in fluorescent lamps: A

review of processes and technologies. Resources, Conservation

and Recycling. 2014;88:21-31.

ꢀ. Chaturabul S, Srirachat W, Wannachod T, Ramakul P, Pancharoen

U, Kheawhom S. Separation of mercury (II) from petroleum

produced water via hollow fiber supported liquid membrane and

mass transfer modeling. Chemical Engineering Journal.

Ethical issue

The authors have comprehensively observed ethical issues

including plagiarism, misbehavior, data fabrication and no data

from the study has been or will be published separately.

References

Azizi M, Aliabadi M, Golmohammadi R. The intensity of

electromagnetic fields emitted by common compact fluorescent

lamps. Iranian Journal of Ergonomics. 2015;3(2):76-84.

Azizi M, Golmohammadi R, Aliabadi M, Baroony Zadeh Z. Study

of ultraviolet radiation emissions from commercial compact

fluorescent lamps. Iran Occupational Health. 2015;12(2):24-34.

Lee C-H, Popuri SR, Peng Y-H, Fang S-S, Lin K-L, Fan K-S, et

al. Overview on industrial recycling technologies and management

strategies of end-of-life fluorescent lamps in Taiwan and other

developed countries. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste

Management. 2015;17(2):312-23.

015;265:34-46.

1. Wagner-Döbler I. Bioremediation of mercury: current research

and industrial applications: Horizon Scientific Press; 2013.

2. Chang T, Chen C, Lee Y, You S. Mercury recovery from cold

cathode fluorescent lamps using thermal desorption technology.

Waste Management & Research. 2010;28(5):455-60.

3. Rey-Raap N, Gallardo A. Determination of mercury distribution

inside spent compact fluorescent lamps by atomic absorption

spectrometry. Waste Management. 2012;32(5):944-8.

4. Rhee S-W, Choi H-H, Park H-S. Characteristics of mercury

emission from linear type of spent fluorescent lamp. Waste

management. 2014;34(6):1066-71.

5. Ozgur C, Coskun S, Guncan A, Civelekoglu G. Investigation of

the recovery potential of mercury from spent tubular fluorescent

lamps by electrowinning process. Fresenius environmental

bulletin. 2014;23(12 A):3199-201.

Al-Ghouti MA, Abuqaoud RH, Abu-Dieyeh MH. Detoxification

of mercury pollutant leached from spent fluorescent lamps using

bacterial strains. Waste Management. 2016;49:238-44.

Tunsu C, Ekberg C, Foreman M, Retegan T. Investigations

regarding the wet decontamination of fluorescent lamp waste using

iodine in potassium iodide solutions. Waste management.

015;36:289-96.

Chang T-C, You S, Yu B, Kong H. The fate and management of

high mercury-containing lamps from high technology industry.

Journal of hazardous materials. 2007;141(3):784-92.

Hobohm J, Krüger O, Basu S, Kuchta K, van Wasen S, Adam C.

Recycling oriented comparison of mercury distribution in new and

spent fluorescent lamps and their potential risk. Chemosphere.

6. Lecler M-T, Zimmermann F, Silvente E, Masson A, Morèle Y,

Remy A, et al. Improving the work environment in the fluorescent

lamp recycling sector by optimizing mercury elimination. Waste

Management. 2018;76:250-60.

017;169:618-26.