Reactivation of Spent FCC Catalyst via Oxidation and Acid Treatment

Abstract

Reactivation of spent FCC catalyst for its application in the adsorption of heavy metals from wastewater was investigated in this research. The most effective reactivation route of spent FCC catalyst was oxidation of spent FCC catalyst using H₂O₂ at oxidant-to-catalyst ratio of 16 ml/g, contact time of 60 minutes and a temperature of 90^oC, followed by treatment with  CH₃COOH solution at acid-to-catalyst ratio of 20 ml/g, 75 minutes contact time and at a temperature of 50^oC. The reactivation process was monitored using the Scanning Electron Microscope Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The result showed significant decreases in impurities of coke and metal, and the crystallinity of the treated spent FCC catalyst was much greater than that of the spent FCC catalyst.