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Particle versus mercury removal efficiency of amalgam separators
- Source :
- Journal of Dentistry. 31:51-58
- Publication Year :
- 2003
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2003.
-
Abstract
- Objective. The intent of this project was to evaluate the efficiency of three commercial amalgam separators based on mercury and particle removal. Methods. Dental wastewater samples were collected from a 54-chair dental clinic and a one chair private dental office. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to measure mercury, and a laser diffractometer method to determine the particle size distributions. Results. The mercury removal efficiency of the three units ranged from 26.5 to 61.8% for the 54-chair clinic and from 80.8 to 94.7% for the one chair office. Following treatment, the particle size range of the effluent was 8.3–19.2 μm for the 54-chair office and 27.5–41.4 μm for the one-chair clinic. For particle samples based on the silver–copper and copper standards, the three amalgam separators had a particle removal efficiency ranging from 92.3 to 99.9%. The initial particle size distributions for these samples were all under 100 μm. Conclusions. The efficiency of the amalgam separators is influenced by the initial concentration of the dental wastewater, the physical setup of the discharge system before the dental wastewater reaches the separators, and the addition of chemicals to the dental wastewater. In addition, it is likely that assessment of efficiency based on particle removal by weight may not be as effective as removal based on concentration.
- Subjects :
- Hazardous Waste
Silver
Materials science
Analytical chemistry
chemistry.chemical_element
Portable water purification
Dental Amalgam
Dental Equipment
Waste Disposal, Fluid
Water Purification
law.invention
stomatognathic system
law
Materials Testing
Humans
Medical Waste Disposal
Particle Size
General Dentistry
Effluent
Crystallography
Lasers
Spectrophotometry, Atomic
Dental Waste
Mercury
Pulp and paper industry
Mercury (element)
stomatognathic diseases
chemistry
Wastewater
Particle size
Atomic absorption spectroscopy
Copper
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 03005712
- Volume :
- 31
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Dentistry
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....b57148fd377ce44b299ab5b50b698e6d