Recupero di catalizzatori petrolchimici esausti da rifiuto a risorsa

The FCC catalysts, used in the reaction of cracking of crude oil and consisting of a mixture of clay and zeolite Y loaded with lanthanum, end their activity downstream of petrochemical processes. The classification of these wastes varies from not dangerous to dangerous, the latter ones with very high levels in antimony, nickel and molybdenum. To transform this waste into resources, we studied a process based on a mechanical treatment of activation followed by a crystallization of the product activated and contemporary expulsion of lanthanum, which is recovered by a leaching and subsequent precipitation with organic acids (tartaric and citric acids). In this way it is possible to recover 96% of the waste material in two products: a concentrate of lanthanum carbonate and another concentrated product of zeolite X and zeolite P.