Method for platinum group metals recovery from spent catalysts

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017145542-A1
Application number	US-201515318459-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 18, 2015
Priority date	Jun 19, 2014
Publication date	May 25, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method for recovery of platinum group metals from a spent catalyst is described. The method includes crushing the spent catalyst to obtain a catalyst particulate material including particles having a predetermined grain size. The method includes subjecting the catalyst particulate material to a chlorinating treatment in the reaction zone at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time period by putting the catalyst particulate material in contact with the chlorine containing gas. The method also includes applying an electromagnetic field to the chlorine-containing gas in the reaction zone to provide ionization of chlorine; thereby to cause a chemical reaction between platinum group metals and chlorine ions and provide a volatile platinum group metal-containing chloride product in the reaction zone. Following this, the volatile platinum group metal-containing chloride product is cooled to convert the product into solid phase platinum group metal-containing materials.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for recovery of platinum group metals from a spent catalyst, the method comprising:
crushing said spent catalyst to obtain a catalyst particulate material including particles having a predetermined grain size; providing a chlorine containing gas and supplying thereof to a reaction zone; subjecting the catalyst particulate material to a chlorinating treatment in the reaction zone at a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time period by putting the catalyst particulate material in contact with the chlorine containing gas to yield a volatile platinum group metal containing chloride; optionally applying an electromagnetic field to the chlorine-containing gas in the reaction zone to provide ionization of chlorine; thereby to cause a chemical reaction between platinum group metals; and cooling said volatile platinum group metal-containing chloride product to convert said volatile platinum group metal-containing chloride product into solid phase platinum group metal-containing materials.

2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising impregnating the catalyst particulate material with the chloride aqueous solution prior to subjecting of the catalyst particulate material to the chlorinating treatment.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein said chloride aqueous solution includes dissolving at least one chloride salt and at least one hypochlorite salt in water.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein a concentration of said at least one chloride salt in the chloride aqueous solution is in the range of about 15 weight percent to about 40 weight percent, whereas a concentration of said at least one hypochlorite salt is in the range of about 5 weight percent to about 15% weight percent.

5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the chloride salts are selected from alkaline metal chlorides, alkaline earth metals chlorides, aluminum chloride and/or ammonium chloride, whereas the hypochlorite salts are selected from hypochlorite salts of alkaline metals and/or hypochlorite salts of alkaline earth metals.

6 . The method of claim 2 , wherein said impregnating of the catalyst particulate material with the chloride aqueous solution includes soaking the catalyst particulate material in the chloride aqueous solution until the catalyst particulate material is steeped.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said predetermined grain size of said catalyst particulate material is in the range of 100 microns to 300 mm.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein an amount of the chlorine in the chlorine containing gas is in the range of 1 gram to 200 gram per each kilogram of the spent catalyst.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the chlorine-containing gas includes chlorine and atmospheric air.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the chlorine-containing gas includes chlorine and oxygen.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein a chlorine content in the chlorine containing gas is in the range of 0.1 weight percent to 95 weight percent, whereas an oxygen content in the chlorine containing gas is in the range of 0.1 weight percent to 25 weight percent.

12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said predetermined temperature in the reaction zone is in the range of 300 degrees Celsius to 1100 degrees Celsius.

13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said predetermined time period for heating the catalyst particulate material is in the range of 10 min to 120 min.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a frequency of the electromagnetic field applied to the reaction zone is in the range of 50 kHz to 12 GHz.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein an irradiance of the electromagnetic field applied to the reaction zone is in the range of 0.1 kW/cm 2 to 10 kW/cm 2 .

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said applying of the electromagnetic field to the chlorine-containing gas mixture to provide ionization of chlorine is carried out for a time period in the range of 5 min to 180 min.

17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said heating of the catalyst particulate material in the reaction zone is carried out simultaneously with said applying of electromagnetic field to the chlorine-containing gas.

18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said providing of the chlorine containing gas comprises providing a chlorine-containing material, and heating said chlorine-containing material in a chlorine production zone at a decomposition temperature of the chlorine-containing material, thereby causing thermal decomposition of the chlorine-containing material and producing said chlorine-containing gas.

19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein said chlorine-containing material is a particulate material selected from potassium hypochlorite, sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, magnesium hypochlorite, barium hypochlorite, potassium chloride-hypochlorite, sodium chloride-hypochlorite, calcium chloride-hypochlorite, magnesium chloride-hypochlorite, barium chloride-hypochlorite, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, ammonium chloride, calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, barium chloride, aluminum chloride, hydrochloric acid and any combination thereof.

20 . The method of claim 18 , wherein said chlorine-containing material is a composition of calcium hypochlorite and calcium chloride.

21 . The method of claim 20 , wherein an amount of calcium hypochlorite in said composition of calcium hypochlorite and calcium chloride is in the range of 5 weight percent to 80 weight percent.

22 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the heating of the chlorine-containing material is carried out at a temperature in the range of 150 degrees Celsius to 400 degrees Celsius.

23 . The method of claim 18 , wherein said heating of the mixture to provide thermal decomposition of the chlorine-containing material and produce the chlorine-containing gas mixture is carried out for a time period in the range of 5 min to 120 min.

24 . An apparatus for recovery of platinum group metals from a spent catalyst comprising:
a catalyst particulate material inlet port; a chlorinartion reactor with a reaction zone; a chlorine-containing gas inlet port; a heater; optionally an electromagnetic inductor; platinum group metal-containing vapor outlet port and one or more corresponding cooling manifolds through which a platinum group metal-containing vapor is released from the reaction zone;
wherein
a catalyst particulate material is fed into the catalyst particulate material inlet port and is being treated with chlorine containing gas from the chlorinated reactor at a predetermined temperature by the heater, providing a chemical reaction between platinum group metals and the chlorine-containing gas to yield a volatile platinum group metal-containing chloride product.

25 . The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein said catalyst particulate material is impregnated with chloride aqueous solution prior to be fed into the apparatus.

26 . The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the electromagnetic inductor applies an electromagnetic field to the chlorine-containing gas and catalyst particulate material mixture.

27 . The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the chlorine-containing gas is provided from a storage tank.

Assignees

• Yeda Res & Dev

Inventors

• Lubomirsky Igor
• Kaplan Valery

Classifications

• C22B11/048

  from spent catalysts · CPC title

• C22B11/06 Primary

  Chloridising · CPC title

• C01G55/005

  Halides · CPC title

• B01J19/08

  Processes employing the direct application of electric or wave energy, or particle radiation; Apparatus therefor (application of shock waves B01J3/08) · CPC title

• Y02P10/20

  Recycling · CPC title