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Feasibility of bioleaching integrated with a chemical oxidation process for improved leaching of valuable metals from refinery spent hydroprocessing catalyst

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Abstract

Bioleaching is considered an eco-friendly technique for leaching metals from spent hydroprocessing catalysts; however, the low bioleaching yield of some valuable metals (Mo and V) is a severe bottleneck to its successful implementation. The present study reported the potential of an integrated bioleaching-chemical oxidation process in improved leaching of valuable metals (Mo and V) from refinery spent hydroprocessing catalysts. The first stage bioleaching of a spent catalyst (coked/decoked) was conducted using sulfur-oxidizing microbes. The results suggested that after 72 h of bioleaching, 85.7% Ni, 86.9% V, and 72.1% Mo were leached out from the coked spent catalyst. Bioleaching yield in decoked spent catalyst was relatively lower (86.8% Ni, 79.8% V, and 59.8% Mo). The low bioleaching yield in the decoked spent catalyst was attributed to metals’ presence in stable fractions (residual + oxidizable). After first stage bioleaching, the integration of a second stage chemical oxidation process (1 M H2O2) drastically improved the leaching of Ni, Mo, and V (94.2–100%) from the coked spent catalyst. The improvement was attributed to the high redox potential (1.77 V) of the H2O2, which led to the transformation of low-valence metal sulfides into high-valence metallic ions more conducive to acidic bioleaching. In the decoked spent catalyst, the increment in the leaching yield after second stage chemical oxidation was marginal (<5%). The results suggested that the integrated bioleaching-chemical oxidation process is an effective method for the complete leaching of valuable metals from the coked spent catalyst.

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Funding

This research was supported by Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Kuwait (project number: PF095K).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Petroleum Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, 13109, Safat, Kuwait

    Ashish Pathak, Mohan S. Rana, Hanadi Al-Sheeha, Rajasekaran Navvmani, Hanan M. Al-Enezi, Sakeena Al-Sairafi & Jayshree Mishra

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  1. Ashish Pathak
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  2. Mohan S. Rana
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  3. Hanadi Al-Sheeha
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  4. Rajasekaran Navvmani
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  5. Hanan M. Al-Enezi
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  6. Sakeena Al-Sairafi
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  7. Jayshree Mishra
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Contributions

AP conceptualized, conducted bioleaching experiments, data curation, and wrote the original draft. MR analyzed and interpreted the data regarding FTIR, BET, and reviewed the original manuscript. HAL conduct the CHNS, BET, and FTIR analysis. NM conducted the sampling, prepared the samples for ICP analysis, and edited the manuscript. HM performed the SEM-EDS test, whereas SAL participated in bioleaching experiment. JM undertook the ICP analysis of leaching samples. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ashish Pathak.

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Pathak, A., Rana, M., Al-Sheeha, H. et al. Feasibility of bioleaching integrated with a chemical oxidation process for improved leaching of valuable metals from refinery spent hydroprocessing catalyst. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 34288–34301 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-18680-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-18680-7

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