A case study on the life cycle assessment of recycling industrial mercury-containing waste

The life cycle of the environmental impact of recycling mercury (Hg)-containing waste was quantified via ReCiPe H method. Uncertainty analysis was conducted to determine the credibility of the study. Recycling 1 × 104 tonnes Hg-containing waste with end-of-life disposal generated 0.63 CTUh, 62.33 CTUh, 3.47 × 107 kg CO2 eq, and 5.44 × 106 kg oil eq environmental burdens of carcinogens, non-carcinogens, climate change, and fossil depletion categories, respectively. Results showed that the carcinogens and non-carcinogens categories that were contributed by direct atmospheric Hg emission substantially affected the overall environmental burden. Similar findings were proved by sensitivity analysis. The utilization of industrial hazardous waste (IHW) that was generated from Hg recycling process is more environmentally beneficial to the carcinogens category than landfill disposal. Effective approaches to decrease the overall environmental burden of recycling Hg-containing waste include recycling Hg with end-of-life disposal, improving technology for atmospheric Hg emission, and further utilizing the IHWs that are generated from recycling Hg process. In addition, increasing the government supervision of relevant enterprises to avoid the illegal disposal of Hg-containing waste is crucial to protect human health and ecosystems from Hg damage.