Recovery of rhenium from a spent catalyst via sublimation
AssigneeConocoPhillips Company
InventorsJoe D. Allison, Nithya Srinivasan, Sriram Ramani
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This invention provides a method for recovering rhenium oxide from a material containing rhenium by itself or rhenium in combination with some other element, such as an element catalytically active for a catalytic process, such as hydrogenation, oxidation, reforming, and hydrocracking. The method includes conversion of rhenium to a sublimable oxide via oxidation, heating in an oxidizing atmosphere to sublime the oxide as a volatized oxide, and then isolation of rhenium from the volatized oxide.
Claims20
A method for recovering rhenium from a spent catalyst comprising rhenium, the method comprising:
- heating the spent catalyst in an oxidizing atmosphere at a temperature effective to sublime a portion of the rhenium as a volatized oxide.
A method for recovering rhenium and a second metal from a spent catalyst comprising rhenium and the second metal, the method comprising:
- (a) heating the spent catalyst in an oxidizing atmosphere at a temperature effective to sublime a portion of the rhenium as a volatized oxide and to form a catalyst remainder;
- and
- (b) removing at least a portion of the second metal from the catalyst remainder.
A method for reclaiming rhenium from a spent catalyst, comprising:
- (a) heating the spent catalyst in an oxidizing atmosphere at a temperature effective to sublime a portion of rhenium as a volatilized oxide;
- (b) isolating the rhenium from the volatized oxide;
- and
- (c) incorporating the isolated metal in a fresh catalyst.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.