Lamp Recycling Process

Air Cycle Corporation offers lamp recycling services and transportation throughout all of the United States to assist facilities in properly recycling their lamps.

Once the lamps are picked up, they are transported to a permitted facility for lamp recycling. Equipment, such as the MRT Compact Crush and Separation Plant, is used for the lamp recycling of all types and sizes of discarded fluorescent lamps (intact or crushed). These systems separate the lamps into lime soda glass, aluminum end caps, lead glass/ferro metal components and phosphor powder. The phosphor powder is then retorted to capture the mercury. All of these lamp components can be reused.

The operating conditions meet even the toughest environmental standards. The entire process is fully automatic and incorporated in a container in which the air is brought to subpressure, thereby preventing mercury from being released into the environment. Exhaust air is constantly discharged through the internal carbon filters. With the aid of a sophisticated patented air transportation system, the phosphor powder is separated in different steps from the by-products. The mercury bearing powder is collected in distiller barrels beneath the cyclone and the self-cleansing dust filters. This mercury bearing powder will later be retorted to drive the mercury out of the powder.

At the end of the process the glass, metal end-caps, powder, and mercury can all be re-used.

Click on images to enlarge

3D image of inside of MRT recycling system

Actual view of MRT recycling system

Clean glass for reuse