Recovery of PGM's from Spent Autocatalyst Using Hydrometallurgy and Ultrasound-Assisted Solvent Extraction

• Main Authors: Ying-Shiu Hung, 洪英修
• Other Authors: Gordon C. C. Yang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2001
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/50348799768797260971

碩士 === 國立中山大學 === 環境工程研究所 === 89 === In this study, various techniques of hydrometallurgy and ultrasound-assisted solvent extraction were used to recover the platinum group metals (PGM’s) from a composite sample of honeycomb-type autocatalysts. After they were removed from the converter casings, the autocatalyst substrates were first crushed and then ground by a ball mill. The recovery procedures employed are shown as follows: (1) dissolve PGM’s from ground spent autocatalyst by aqua regia leaching; (2) separate PGM’s from base metals in the aqua regia leachate by metal cementation using zinc powder so that PGM’s can be precipitated out; (3) the PGM’s precipitate was first dissolved by aqua regia, then proceed to remove nitrate and hydrochloride within. The residue was further dissolved in hydrochloride acid as a preparation step for solvent extraction; (4) the PGM’s pregnant solution of hydrochloride acid was treated by solvent extraction and stripping to separate and purify each component of PGM’s. Effects of ultrasound agitation on the efficiency of solvent extraction was also evaluated in this work. Results of aqua regia leaching experiments have shown that the quantity of dissolved PGM’s increased as the solid-to-liquid ratio decreased. The maximum dissolved quantity of PGM’s could be obtained by a 3-hr leaching time. At this stage, the PGM’s recoveries are 80-90% for platinum and rhodium and greater than 99% for palladium. The result of a preliminary test has indicated that acetic acid can not effectively separate the PGM’s and base metals. Thus, the method of cementation by zinc powder was employed to separate PGM’s from base metals. Before cementation, the aqua regia leachate was diluted and pH-adjusted to greater than 2. In so doing, an almost complete cementation (>99%) could be obtained by the least quantity of zinc powder. In addition, the base metals occurred with the PGM’s precipitate have been minimized except lead and zinc. While palladium was extracted by di-n-octyl sulfide (DOS), ultrasound assistance has rendered a complete extraction within a few minutes. At this stage, the extraction efficiency was found to be independent of the HCl concentration. It was found that platinum and rhodium were not extracted by DOS. When platinum was extracted by tri-n-octylamine (TOA) and assisted by ultrasound, rhodium will be extracted at the HCl concentration higher than 4M. Thus, TOA is not an effective chemical for selective extraction of platinum. TOA was then replaced by tributyl phosphate (TBP). Experimental results have indicated that the extraction of platinum using TBP was affected by the HCl concentration. The best result was obtained when the HCl concentration was 5M. Extraction by TBP was found to be fast. It took only 20-30 seconds to reach the equilibrium even with no ultrasound assistance. But multi-stage extractions are generally required to extract platinum completely. Rhodium was found to be not extracted by TBP. After palladium and platinum were extracted, only rhodium was remained in the reffinate. In summary, solvent extraction using DOS and TBP has made it possible to separate palladium, platinum, and rhodium effectively. In the palladium stripping solution almost no base metals was determined. However, zinc and lead were found in the platinum stripping solution and the rhodium-containing raffinate. These base metals should be removed to achieve a better purity for each precious metal. The TCLP (i.e., a leaching test for toxicity) result of the autocatalyst substrate after aqua regia leaching has found to be non-hazardous. However, several streams of wastewater and acid gas generated in the recovery process should be properly managed to avoid the secondary pollution.