Dissolution of Metal Supported Spent Auto Catalysts in Acids

Abstract

Metal supported auto catalysts, have been used in sports and racing cars initially, but nowadays their application systematically increases. In Metal Substrate (supported) Converters (MSC), catalytic functions are performed by the Platinum Group Metals (PGM): Pt, Pd, Rh, similarly to the catalysts on ceramic carriers. The contents of these metals make that spent catalytic converters are valuable source of precious metals. All over the world there are many methods for the metals recovery from the ceramic carriers, however, the issue of platinum recovery from metal supported catalysts has not been studied sufficiently yet. The paper presents preliminary results of dissolution of spent automotive catalyst on a metal carrier by means of acids: H2SO4, HCl, HNO3, H3PO4. The main assumption of the research was the dissolution of base metals (Fe, Cr, Al) from metallic carrier of catalyst, avoiding dissolution of PGMs. Dissolution was the most effective when concentrated hydrochloric acid, and 2M sulfuric acid (VI) was used. It was observed that the dust, remaining after leaching, contained platinum in the level of 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.