Conversion of fine catalyst into coke-like material

• US 20090163352A1
• Filed: 12/20/2007
• Published: 06/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chevron USA Incorporated (Chevron Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Chevron USA Incorporated (Chevron Corp.)
• Inventors: Lopez, Jose Guitian, Powers, Christopher A., Reynolds, Bruce E., Mohr, Donald H.
• Granted Patent: US 7,737,068 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 502/56
• CPC Class Codes: C10B 55/00 Coking mineral oils, bitumen, tar, and the like or mixtures thereof with solid carbonaceous material cracking oils C10G
• CPC Class Codes: C10B 57/005 After-treatment of coke, e.g. calcination desulfurization
• CPC Class Codes: C22B 23/026 from spent catalysts
• CPC Class Codes: C22B 34/225 from spent catalysts
• CPC Class Codes: C22B 34/345 from spent catalysts
• CPC Class Codes: C22B 7/009 General processes for recovering metals or metallic compounds from spent catalysts for recovering specific metals C22B11/00 - C22B61/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 10/20 Recycling

Abstract

A process for recovering catalytic metals from fine catalyst slurried in heavy oil comprises pyrolizing fine catalyst slurried in heavy oil to provide one or more lighter oil products and a coke-like material and recovering catalytic metals from the coke-like material.

Claims

1. A process for recovering catalytic metals from fine catalyst slurried in heavy oil, the process comprising:

pyrolizing fine catalyst slurried in heavy oil to provide one or more lighter oil products and a coke-like material; and

recovering catalytic metals from the coke-like material.

2. The process of claim 1, wherein pyrolizing is conducted in a reactor selected from the group consisting of standard delayed coking unit, a modified delayed coking unit, a screw reactor type of pyrolyzer, a screw coker, a rotary kiln, and a rotary calciner.

3. The process of claim 1, wherein pyrolizing comprises heating to a temperature of greater than 700°

F.

4. The process of claim 1, wherein pyrolizing comprises heating for greater than 0.5 hours.

5. The process of claim 1, wherein the coke-like material has sufficient porosity to allow leaching of catalytic metals in the fine catalyst.

6. The process of claim 1, wherein the fine catalyst is partially or completely spent.

7. The process of claim 1, wherein the fine catalyst comprises particles having a size of less than 10 microns.

8. The process of claim 1, further comprising grinding the coke-like material.

9. The process of claim 1, further comprising grinding the coke-like material to a particle size ranging from about greater than 1 to less than 50 microns.

10. The process of claim 1, further comprising slurrying the coke-like material with water.

11. The process of claim 1, wherein recovering catalytic metals from the coke-like material comprises subjecting the coke-like material to leaching reactions.