Chemical and petrochemical industry

Abstract

Abstract The potential sources of various metals in chemical and petrochemical processes are discussed. Special emphasis is put on the catalysts used in the industry. Their main applications, compositions, especially metal contents are presented both for fresh and spent ones. The focus is on the main types of metals used in catalysts: the platinum-group metals, the rare-earth elements, and the variety of transition metals. The analysis suggested that chemical and petrochemical sectors can be considered as the secondary source of metals. Because the utilization of spent refinery catalysts for metal recovery is potentially viable, different methods were applied. The conventional approaches used in metal reclamation as hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy, as well as new methods include bioleaching, were described. Some industrial solutions for metal recovery from spent solution were also presented.