Recovering valuable metals from spent hydrodesulfurization catalyst via blank roasting and alkaline leaching

Jianzhang Wang; Shaona Wang; Afolabi Olayiwola; Na Yang; Biao Liu; Jan J Weigand; Marco Wenzel; Hao Du

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125849

Recovering valuable metals from spent hydrodesulfurization catalyst via blank roasting and alkaline leaching

J Hazard Mater. 2021 Aug 15:416:125849. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125849. Epub 2021 Apr 15.

Authors

Jianzhang Wang¹, Shaona Wang², Afolabi Olayiwola³, Na Yang⁴, Biao Liu², Jan J Weigand⁵, Marco Wenzel⁵, Hao Du⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, National Engineering Laboratory for Hydrometallurgical Cleaner Production Technology, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
² CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, National Engineering Laboratory for Hydrometallurgical Cleaner Production Technology, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, National Engineering Laboratory for Hydrometallurgical Cleaner Production Technology, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
⁴ Beijing Hollysys Industrial Software Co., Ltd., Beijing 100176, China.
⁵ Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry, TU Dresden, Dresden 01062, Germany.
⁶ CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, National Engineering Laboratory for Hydrometallurgical Cleaner Production Technology, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: hdu@ipe.ac.cn.

PMID: 33894437
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125849

Abstract

Spent hydrodesulfurization (HDS) catalysts, containing considerable amount of pollutants and metals including vanadium (V), molybdenum (Mo), aluminum (Al), and nickel (Ni), are considered as hazardous wastes which will result in not only ecosystem damage but also squandering resource. Herein, a process featuring blank roasting-alkaline leaching is proposed to recover spent HDS catalyst. During roasting, low-valence compounds convert to high-valence oxides which can be leached out by NaOH solution. Afterwards, leaching solution is subjected to crystallization to separate metals. The results show that for samples roasted at 650 °C, 97% V, 96% Mo, and 88% Al are leached out at optimal condition; for samples roasted at 1000 °C, selective leaching of 91% V and 96% Mo respectively, are realized, with negligible Al being dissolved. NiO is insoluble in strong alkali leaving in residue. The advantages of this process are that first, the leaching of V, Mo, and Al can be manipulated by controlling roasting conditions, providing flexible process design. Second, leaching solution can be fully recycled. Finally, mild leaching condition and clean separation of V, Mo, and Al is achieved, proving fundamental information for peer researches to facilitate their future research on the development of more efficient and cleaner technologies.

Keywords: Alkaline leaching; Hydrodesulfurization catalysts; Molybdenum; Vanadium.