This application is a Section 371 of International Application No. PCT/IT2006/000002, filed Jan. 5, 2006, which was published in the English language on Jul. 20, 2006, under International Publication No. WO2006/075347 A2, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to mercury dispensing compositions.
The compositions of the invention are particularly suitable for the use in dosing mercury inside fluorescent lamps.
As known, fluorescent lamps require for their operation a gaseous mixture at pressures of some hundreds of hectoPascal (hPa), formed by noble gases and mercury vapors. In the past mercury was introduced into the lamps in liquid form, either by direct dripping into the lamp, or inside of small glass vials which afterwards were opened inside the lamp. However, due to the toxicity of mercury, the most recent international regulations have imposed the use of the lowest possible quantity of the element, compatibly with the lamps functionality; this has rendered the liquid dosage methods obsolete, because these are not capable of dosing in lamps quantities of mercury of few milligrams or even smaller than one milligram.
Another method for the introduction of mercury into lamps is by means of metal amalgams. However, this method implies a problem: some manufacturing steps of the lamps are carried out at relatively high temperatures, generally higher than 400° C., when the lamp is not sealed yet, while the mercury release from these materials starts already at low temperatures, between about 100 and 300° C. depending on the metal with which mercury is amalgamated; in these conditions emissions of mercury, which is a harmful metal for health, occur into the working environment.
In order to overcome these problems, it was proposed in the past the use of various solid products which allow to overcome or at least reduce the problems seen before.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,657,589 in the Applicant's name discloses TixZryHgz compounds, which do not release mercury when heated up to about 500° C., but can release it when heated to about 800-900° C. (so-called activation treatment); the preferred compound of this family is Ti3Hg, sold under the trade name St 505. These compounds have the advantage that they can be powdered and dosed into small weight quantities for producing mercury dispensing devices containing the required amount of this metal. A problem of these compounds is, however, that they undergo a partial oxidation during the lamp manufacturing steps, whereby the amount of mercury released during activation is only about 40% of the total mercury content, which forces to introduce into the lamp a quantity of mercury noticeably larger than necessary, with disposal problems at the end of the life of the lamps.
British patent application GB-A-2,056,490 discloses Ti—Cu—Hg compositions having better properties of mercury release compared to those of the compounds of U.S. Pat. No. 3,657,589. In particular, these compounds are stable in air up to about 500° C., while by heating up to 800-900° C. they release quantities of mercury higher than 80%, or even than 90%.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,560, U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,026 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,205 disclose combinations of powders of the compound St 505 with a promoter of the mercury yield (respectively, copper-tin alloys with possible additions of small quantities of other transition elements; copper-silicon alloys; and copper-tin-Rare Earths alloys); the addition of the promoter allows to increase the mercury yield from the compound St 505 up to values of 80-90%, even after its oxidation, thus avoiding the need of using a large excess of mercury as happens with the compound St 505 used alone.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,464,133 proposes to use mixtures of powders of the compound Ti3Hg with an element selected between nickel or copper; according to what is stated in this document, by these mixtures it is possible to achieve the mercury release already at the temperature of 770° C.
The releasing of mercury from these mixtures and compositions is normally obtained by heating by means of radiofrequencies, by positioning an induction coil externally to the lamp in a position close to the device which comprises the mercury containing material; good yields of the metal are achieved by heating treatments of total duration of about 20-30 seconds per lamp.
However, the properties of mercury releasing from known compositions and mixtures, although good, are not yet completely satisfactory for lamp manufacturers. An optimal mercury dispenser for lamp manufacturing should have the following features:
Object of the present invention is to provide mercury dispensing compositions which satisfy the above requirements of lamp manufacturers.
This and other objects are obtained according to the present invention by means of compositions comprising:
Further, the compositions of the invention may optionally comprise a third component, C, selected among metals or compounds able to react exothermically with aluminum. The possible compositions in the case of this third component being present are reported below.
In the remainder of the description all percentages regarding the composition of the components A, B and C, as well as their ratios, are to be intended by weight unless otherwise indicated.
The inventors have found that the compositions of the invention (with two or three components) are able, if heated to 650° C., to give rise to an exothermic reaction which causes a localized temperature increase of some hundreds of degrees Celsius in few seconds; it is thus caused the practically complete emission of mercury from the compound containing the same, even with a heating from outside of duration reduced with respect to the processes presently in use.
The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in the drawings embodiments which are presently preferred. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.
In the drawings:
The component A of the compositions of the invention is a compound comprising mercury, at least one element selected between titanium and zirconium, and optionally also copper or a combination of copper and tin. Components A suitable for the purposes of the present invention are the Ti—Hg compounds (and particularly the Ti3Hg compound) disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,657,589; the Ti—Cu—Hg compounds disclosed in the British patent application GB-A-2,056,490; and the Ti—Cu—Sn—Hg compounds disclosed in international patent application PCT/IT2005/000389.
The component B of the compositions of the invention can be aluminum; as an alternative it is possible to use a compound or alloy which contains at least 40% by weight of aluminum and has a melting temperature not higher than that of aluminum. For the objects of the invention the alloys Al—Cu have proved to be suitable, in particular those with composition close to the eutectic Al 68%-Cu 32%, the intermetallic compound with composition Al 46.6%-Cu 53.4% or the Al—Cu alloys with composition proximate thereto; further, the Al—Si alloys are suitable, for example with composition corresponding or proximate to the eutectic Al 87.3%-Cu 12.7%, and the Al—Cu—Sn alloys.
Finally, the optional component C of the compositions of the invention is a metal or a compound (generally an oxide) able to react exothermically with aluminum. This third component can be selected among the transition metals, in particular Ni, Fe, Y, Ti and Zr, Rare Earths, or some oxides such as iron oxide, Fe2O3, copper oxide, CuO, or manganese oxide, MnO2.
In case of compositions with two components (A and B), the weight of the component A can reach 90% of the total weight of the composition. In compositions even richer in component A, the amount of component B is excessively reduced and the increase in temperature due to the exothermic reaction is not sufficient to cause a complete releasing of the mercury contained in A.
The condition that the component A is present up to 90% by weight in the compositions of two components can be expressed also by stating that the weight ratio between A and B can be equal or lower than 9:1 (A:B≦9:1). This condition, expressed in this second way, holds as well, for the same reason stated above, also in case of compositions containing also the third component C.
Even if all compositions on the right hand of the segment d-C in
The range of preferred compositions is thus delimited by points d-e-f-g in
d) A 90%-B 10%-C 0%
e) A 36%-B 4%-C 60%
f) A 10%-B 30%-C 60%
g) A 10%-B 90%-C 0%
In case component C is an oxide, because of the high exothermicity of the reaction of aluminum with oxygen, it is sufficient and preferable to use small quantities of the component C, for example smaller than 20% by weight and even more preferably smaller than 5% by weight.
The two (or three) components of the compositions of the invention can be used in different physical forms. In the case of components which are elemental metals (as the aluminum used as component B, or a metal used as component C), it is possible to use these components in the shape of strips or parts formed with other configurations, to which the component A is brought into contact or is adhered thereon; for example, the composition of the invention in a similar case could consist of powders of component A rolled on an aluminum sheet of sufficient thickness or contained in an aluminum tube (component B); or further, it is possible to roll powders of the components A and B (in this case B is preferably an aluminum alloy, having a hardness sufficient for rolling) on a strip of a metal as iron or nickel.
However, all components are preferably used in form of powders, of particle size generally smaller than 500 μm, preferably smaller than 250 μm, and more preferably smaller than 125 μm.
As known in the field, in the lamps it is generally necessary to use also a getter material for sorbing traces of gases potentially detrimental to their functioning, such as oxygen, hydrogen or water; an example of getter material widely used in the field is the alloy having composition Zr 84%-Al 16% disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,203,901.
Using powders having the compositions of the invention, mercury dispensing devices of various shapes can be manufactured, some examples thereof being represented in
For obtaining devices of the type illustrated in
By the compositions of the invention it is possible to obtain easily devices with a low, but precise and reproducible, dosage of mercury in a lamp. In devices of the type of
The invention will be further illustrated by the following examples. These non-limiting examples illustrate some embodiments intended to teach those skilled in the art how to put in practice the invention and to show the best mode for performing the invention.
In this example it is verified the temperature variation of a pellet manufactured with a composition of the invention, during heating by radio frequencies.
A composition of the invention consisting of 24 milligrams (mg) of powder of Ti3Hg compound and 16 mg of aluminum powder is prepared; both powders have particle size smaller than 128 μm. The mixture of powders is compressed in a suitable cylindrical mold with a pressure of 1,400 Kg/cm2, thus obtaining a pellet having diameter of 4 mm and thickness of about 1 mm. This pellet is introduced in a glass flask which is then evacuated. The pellet is then heated from outside by means of radio frequencies, and with an optical pyrometer the temperature of the pellet during the test is measured. The temperature variation is shown in
In this example the mercury emission properties of various samples of compositions of the invention are measured.
Nine pellets having diameter equal to 4 mm and variable weight and height are manufactured as described in example 1, using different mixtures of components A, B and C; as component A the Ti3Hg compound is again used; as component B aluminum is again used; the compositions of the different pellets are given in Table 1, wherein the component C used in tests 8 and 9 (the only ones comprising such component) is also indicated. These pellets are introduced one at a time in a glass flask and the evaporation of mercury as described in example 1 is caused. At the end of each test, after cooling the system, the pellet is withdrawn from the flask and dissolved in a solution containing a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids, bringing mercury into solution as ion Hg2+; this is then reduced to metallic mercury with sodium-boron hydride (NaBH4), and the vapors of the metal are sent to an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer, measuring the concentration of mercury in solution; from this datum it can be deduced the amount of residual mercury in the pellet after the test and, as difference between the amount of mercury initially present in the pellet (known from the amount of component A and from the chemical composition thereof) and the residual value so measured, the amount of evaporated mercury is obtained. In Table 1 the weight of each pellet, of the single components thereof, the (calculated) total amount of mercury contained in each pellet at the beginning of the test, the maximum temperature reached in each test, the amount of mercury released and the yield of mercury (percentage of mercury released with respect to the total) are reported. In all tests triggering temperatures comprised between 650° C. and 660° C. are observed.
The features of the compositions of the invention allow to heat from outside the pellet for times comprised only between about 3 and 5 seconds, while with a composition of the prior art, wherein the release of mercury starts at about 800° C., times of heating of at least 6 seconds and generally of about 10 seconds are necessary; further, as the complete release of mercury requires that the temperature is at the required values for about 10 seconds, with the compositions of the prior art it is necessary to heat from outside during all evaporation time, while with the compositions of the invention the temperature remains at high values, above 800° C., for several seconds without the need of heating from outside. This allows to have shorter times of heating from outside, and therefore to increase the hour productivity of the lamp manufacturing lines. Furthermore, all therefore to increase the hour productivity of the lamp manufacturing lines. Furthermore, all compositions of the invention show very high mercury release yields, all higher than 93% and in one case equal to 98.7%, therefore allowing to reduce the amount of unused mercury to minor values only.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes could be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the broad inventive concept thereof. It is understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but it is intended to cover modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
MI2005A0044 | Jan 2005 | IT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/IT2006/000002 | 1/5/2006 | WO | 00 | 6/28/2007 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2006/075347 | 7/20/2006 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
3203901 | Della Porta | Aug 1965 | A |
3257199 | Schmidt | Jun 1966 | A |
3343948 | Raclot | Sep 1967 | A |
3544829 | Someya et al. | Dec 1970 | A |
3657589 | Della Porta et al. | Apr 1972 | A |
3663121 | Della Porta et al. | May 1972 | A |
4097315 | Gardner et al. | Jun 1978 | A |
4464133 | Buhrer | Aug 1984 | A |
4654093 | Bolinder et al. | Mar 1987 | A |
5520560 | Schiabel et al. | May 1996 | A |
5830026 | Schiabel et al. | Nov 1998 | A |
5876205 | Schiabel et al. | Mar 1999 | A |
5916479 | Schiabel et al. | Jun 1999 | A |
6099375 | Della Porta | Aug 2000 | A |
6107737 | della Porta | Aug 2000 | A |
20050199323 | Nielson et al. | Sep 2005 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
19528390 | Feb 1997 | DE |
1310574 | May 2003 | EP |
2056490 | Mar 1981 | GB |
2056490 | Mar 1981 | GB |
9853479 | Nov 1998 | WO |
2006008771 | Jan 2006 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20090032767 A1 | Feb 2009 | US |