Recycling oriented comparison of mercury distribution in new and spent fluorescent lamps and their potential risk

•Fluorescent lamps collection volumes in Hamburg.•A simple method to determine Hg distribution between gaseous phase and phosphor powder.•Differences in distribution between new and spent FL.•Testing two digestion mixtures for elemental analysis of the phosphor powder.

This study compares the mercury distribution in the vapor phase, the phosphor powder and the glass matrix of new and spent fluorescent lamps. The spent fluorescent lamps were obtained at the collection yards of a public waste management company in Hamburg, Germany. An innovative systematic sampling method is utilized to collect six spent and eight corresponding new, off-the-shelf fluorescent lamp samples. The efficiency of several acid digestion methods for the determination of the elemental composition was studied and elemental mass fractions of K, Na, Y, Ca, Ba, Eu, Al, Pb, Mg, Hg, and P were measured. The study also finds aqua regia to be the best reagent for acid digestion. However, no significant difference in mercury distribution was found in the different phases of the new and spent fluorescent lamps.