SFCC Catalyst Renewal via Static Reactor Acid Leaching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for reactivating spent fluid catalytic cracking (SFCC) catalysts are inefficient and costly, failing to effectively recover metals and rare earth elements, and often result in catalyst particle breakage, making industrial-scale reuse challenging.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the use of a static reactor with oxalic acid solution and reflux to leach contaminant metals and rare earth elements from SFCC catalysts, followed by washing, filtering, and thermal treatment to restore catalyst activity without significant particle size reduction, utilizing a recovery reactor with transverse and longitudinal plates to distribute the acid solution evenly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional oxidative regeneration is used to treat SFCC catalysts, then coke deposition is removed, but catalyst activity is not fully restored (less than 70% of fresh cracking activity)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the chemical parameters by introducing acid leaching treatment with specific acids (nitric, hydrochloric, sulfuric, acetic, oxalic, formic) at controlled concentrations and temperatures, transforming the regeneration process from simple oxidative heating to a multi-parameter chemical treatment that restores catalyst activity more effectively
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts and removes harmful metal contaminants (nickel, vanadium, iron) from the catalyst structure through acid leaching, separating these contaminants from the useful catalyst components to enable activity restoration that conventional regeneration cannot achieve
2Reliability
If acid leaching is used to recover metals from SFCC catalysts, then metal content is reduced, but catalyst particle breakage occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes acid concentration parameters (0.1-5M range), temperature parameters (25-200°C range), and treatment time parameters to achieve effective metal recovery while minimizing mechanical stress and particle breakage through controlled chemical etching rather than aggressive acid exposure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses acid solutions as intermediary agents that selectively dissolve metal contaminants without directly attacking the catalyst matrix structure, mediating between the removal of harmful metals and the preservation of catalyst particle integrity through selective chemical reactions
3Ease of manufacture
If SFCC catalysts are disposed of in landfills, then immediate disposal is achieved, but environmental contamination and loss of valuable metals occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent recovers valuable metals (nickel, vanadium, iron) and rare earth elements from SFCC catalysts through acid leaching and precipitation processes, transforming the disposal approach from simple landfilling to resource recovery, thereby eliminating environmental contamination while capturing economically valuable materials
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful metal contaminants trapped in spent catalysts into recoverable resources by using acid leaching to extract these metals, then precipitating them as pure compounds for commercial use, transforming environmental waste into valuable products
4Reliability
If multiple treatment steps are added to improve catalyst reactivation, then catalyst activity increases, but process complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple treatment functions into a single integrated acid leaching process that simultaneously removes metal contaminants, restores catalyst activity, and prepares the catalyst for reuse, combining what would traditionally be separate steps (regeneration, demetallization, reactivation) into one unified process
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The method effectively recovers metals and rare earth elements, maintains catalyst particle size, and enhances catalytic activity, allowing for safe, cost-effective, and efficient reactivation of SFCC catalysts without the need for additional granulation, enabling their reuse in petroleum processing.
Implementation Method 1
treating SFCC catalysts using a static reactor designed to uniformly distribute with an oxalic acid solution and its reflux to obtain leached SFCC catalysts
Implementation Method 2
an array of acid dispensing tubes and array of acid of reflux dispensing tubes to uniformly distribute organic acid solution to each column
Implementation Method 3
executing the cleaned and treated SFCC catalyst with thermal treatment to obtain renewed FCC catalysts
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for renewing spent fluid catalytic cracking (SFCC) catalysts are disclosed which comprises: treating SFCC catalysts using a static reactor designed to uniformly distribute with an oxalic acid solution and its reflux to obtain leached SFCC catalysts; washing with aqueous solution and filtering to collect cleaned and treated SFCC catalyst; and c) executing the cleaned and treated SFCC catalyst with thermal treatment to obtain renewed FCC catalysts.