Estrategias de control de la contaminación del aire por mercurio generado por la actividad minera en el Cantón Portovelo

Abstract

Mercury pollution into the atmosphere is associated with possible toxicity to humans and ecosystems. Industrial activities such as artisanal mining have led to increased concentrations of mercury (Hg) in different environmental media. Mercury emissions from gold mines to the environment accumulate mainly in the form of metallic mercury (Hg °) and Hg + and Hg ++ compounds, arising from mercury nitrate in amalgams, mercury derived from stocks Industrial, environmental and mining is stored in the atmosphere over time in the form of elemental mercury atoms. In this way it can exist for up to a year. However, once it enters the atmosphere, it is transformed into oxidized mercury compounds in the presence of highly reactive molecules, and these new compounds are highly toxic and polluting, more soluble in rain and precipitated by rain to Earth. This review critically assesses recent developments in technological approaches to remediation of the Hg-polluted atmosphere, with a focus on innovative technologies such as adsorption and desorption, catalytic removal, oxidation, and reduction. Removal of multiple pollutants from the atmosphere in flue gases by a radical-induced oxidation reaction is considered one of the most promising methods due to high removal efficiency, low cost, and lower secondary environmental impact.