Background Every year, more than 2 000 tonnes of mercury are released into the air through human activity; some 340 tonnes/year of this comes from Europe. The most toxic form of mercury released into the environment is elemental or methyl mercury (MeHg), a bioaccumulative neurotoxin. Elemental mercury is insoluble in water and cannot be captured effectively by wet scrubbers, so it must be captured using solid sorbents. Sulphur-impregnated activated carbon is the best mercury sorbent currently available, but is very expensive (7 to 12 €/kg) and so most organisations use cheaper but less effective non-impregnated activated carbon (3 to 6.50 €/kg). A recent European Commission-funded project (‘Single state production from waste tyres of the best existing sorbent for the removal of mercury from gas stream: sulphur impregnated carbon – MERCSORB’) studied the production of sulphur-impregnated activated carbon from waste tyres. Objectives The main objective of the SOREME project was to demonstrate the use of an innovative sorbent, produced from sulphur-impregnated activated carbon (S-AC) derived from waste tyres, for the removal of mercury from gas streams in different industrial production cycles. The project aimed to demonstrate the complete industrial functioning of a plant for continuous production of the SOREME sorbent, and to show that the S-AC sorbent could be produced at lower cost than non-impregnated activated carbon and also reduce mercury emissions from different industrial production cycles below current levels. Results The SOREME project developed an effective alternative to the activated carbons commonly used for removing mercury from different industrial emissions. The project team produced an innovative sulphur-impregnated activated carbon (S-AC) sorbent material, from waste material (used tyres) using an established process (pyrolysis), and demonstrated that the product (S4) was up to four times more effective than commercial activated carbon benchmarks in removing mercury from industrial effluents. The project’s demonstration was performed at three levels: laboratory, pilot and industrial scale. Different effluents (liquid, gaseous, mixed) coming from a wide range of different industrial sources were treated, including discharges from general incinerators, crematoria, wastewater treatment plants, hospital/medical waste incinerators and a biomass gasification unit. The efficacy of the SOREME sorbent was evaluated through cutting-edge procedures of analyses, some developed specifically for this purpose. Procedures, such as thermo-gravimetric analyses, different spectroscopy measures and X-ray diffraction, confirmed that the SOREME sorbent adsorbs more mercury than benchmarks, though the exact mechanism of uptake is still largely unknown. All the project’s information was gathered in its Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) studies. These showed that a large-scale production of the SOREME sorbent would be more environmentally friendly than traditional processes of activated carbon production, while there are still margins for improvement. Even its cost is comparable to commercial benchmarks (7-11 €/kg), but the production costs might be further reduced. Environmental benefits deriving directly from the new technology include the more efficient removal of mercury from industrial emissions (up to four times); the use of a waste material (used tyres) as a raw material, otherwise landfilled; the reduced environmental impact of the process, which requires relatively low temperatures (600°C) and produces by-products, tar and syngas, that can be used as alternative fuels. Benefits also derive from the replacement of traditional processes that are energy expensive (reaching 1 000°C), and which consume water, raw materials (bituminous coal and coconut) and toxic substances. The project produced a manual on the S4 product’s characteristics. The project addressed a gap in European legislation on waste management, by demonstrating that the recycling of used tyres through pyrolysis is feasible and can produce a high-quality output in the form of activated carbon. The EU Waste Directive (2008/98/CE) does not currently consider pyrolysis as a waste recovery process, though this project makes a case for its inclusion as a means of recovering waste tyres. The project proceeded in the framework of the EU Strategy Concerning Mercury (COM/2005/00, revised by the COM(2010)723) and of the two European regulations on the destiny of used tyres (EU Landfill Directive 1999/53/EC and End of Life Vehicles Directive 2000/53/EC). Before entering the market, the product must undergo a series of authorisations, registrations (e.g. in the REACH and ECHA registries), and be approved by the European Environmental Agency and by the Italian ARPA. Through its LCA, the project started to address the necessary safety parameters for these, for instance, the evaluation of how the recovery process and the disposal of end-of-life filters impact on the environment. A high demonstration value comes from the fact that pyrolysis is a well-known process in the treatment of different matrixes (usually wastes), but it has never previously been applied to used tyres for obtaining activated carbons. By demonstrating that such activated carbons are highly effective in removing mercury from effluents from many different types of industrial plants, the project can be used as a benchmark for improving the environmental performance of other companies' products or processes. In terms of innovation, the project unexpectedly found that the performance of its activated carbon sorbent was greatly enhanced in seawater-like matrixes (i.e. impregnation with NaCl), which is particularly important for possible applications of the filter in seawater. The new sorbent was also found to adsorb large quantities of Heavy Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which are currently not adsorbed by commercial activated carbon devices used to trap fumes in the work place. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).