Spent sulfuric acid plant catalyst: valuable resource of vanadium or risky residue? Process comparison for environmental
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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES IN EUROPE
Spent sulfuric acid plant catalyst: valuable resource of vanadium or risky residue? Process comparison for environmental implications Bartosz Mikoda 1
&
Anna Potysz 2
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Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska 1
&
Ewa Kmiecik 1
&
Anna Tomczyk 1
Received: 4 March 2020 / Accepted: 20 October 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract The enormous amount of spent catalysts generated worldwide may pose a risk to the environment because of their high load of metals, including vanadium. The latter may be mobilized and released to the environment if managed improperly. Moreover, the catalysts could be considered as secondary resources rather than waste. This study aimed at the efficient extraction of vanadium from spent desulfurization catalyst (SDC) from a sulfuric acid production plant. The raw SDC and the post-extraction residues were characterized in terms of their chemical and phase composition. The metal mobility from the materials was examined with both single-step and multi-step extractions. The environmental risk assessment was performed using sequential extraction. The study revealed that both tested methods (citric acid leaching and bioleaching with Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans) enable the extraction of nearly 96% of V from SDC with a simultaneous reduction of metal mobility. However, the bacterial treatment was found more suitable. The leached residue was mostly (> 90%) composed of SiO2, which makes it a potential candidate for application in construction (e.g., concrete mixtures) after additional examinations. The study highlights the need to develop a metal extraction process for SDC in a way that metal-free residue could be a final product. Keywords Vanadium . Metal recovery . Waste management . Environmental risk . Secondary resources . Sustainable development . Biohydrometallurgy
Introduction Having a high-quality living environment is of great importance for humans. However, industrial development deteriorates the environment, which can lead to harmful effects on living organisms, including humans (Mikoda et al. 2017). One method that ensures both high-quality products and a cleaner environment is catalysis (from Greek katalein—decompose). In this process, catalysts (substances that modify chemical reactions without undergoing any reactions themselves— Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues * Bartosz Mikoda [email protected] 1
Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, al. A. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
2
Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Wrocław, Cybulskiego 30, 50-205 Wrocław, Poland
mostly solid-state) are used to remove undesired constituents from the mixture of interest (Alvarez-Amparán and CedeñoCaero 2017). Various reactions are prompted with the use of catalysts, such as cleaning engine fumes, processing heavy crude oil, and oxidation or reduction of given elements (e.g., sulfur, nitrogen) in flue gas emissions. Different applic
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