Mercury Retort Furnace

EnviroCare’s Mercury Retort Furnace is designed to thermally vaporize water, mercury and zinc present in gold ore precipitates. The thermal energy required is provided by electrically heating the concentrate. By means of a vacuum, the mercury vapor is drawn through a water-cooled condenser where the vapors become liquid and are collected and sold to the commercial market. The uncondensed vapors then flow through a sophisticated scrubber system for thorough cleaning to comply with safety and environmental requirements.

The ore is first conditioned by a leaching and filtering process. The resultant concentrate is then placed into retort boats (metal containers), which are loaded into the retort furnace. The processing temperature is elevated through thermal radiation and controlled by a PLC. Hot gases exit the retort and are subsequently condensed and scrubbed.

Standard size units can process 10 cu ft. of ore concentrate.