Objective

Development of a new range of high-performance cements that can be used for the immobilisation of mercury, thus achieving a technological advance in the mercury-contaminated waste treatment processes, so that the possibility of reuse as a building material can be assessed.

Specific goals:

• Achieve the stabilisation and solidification (S/S) of Hg in different environments and elements and with different maximum concentration levels.
• Improve knowledge of the national and international legal context in relation to mercury waste.  
• Increase knowledge of mercury-contaminated waste generation, paying special attention to waste generated the reconversion of mercury cells into membrane cells in the chlorine-alkali industry.
• Design a treatment for waste contaminated with mercury that enables its reuse as a construction material.
• Guarantee the effectiveness of technology for large-scale waste treatment, and which in turn is economically viable.
• Extrapolate the technology to other heavy metals.