Spent Catalyst Recycling
Market leading process technologies are the foundation of our value delivery for customers.
- Spent residue-upgrading catalyst is classified as a hazardous waste. It is leachable and contains sulphides, which are self-heating & pyrophoric (self-igniting), and reactive poly-nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene, arsenic oil, and metals
- Sending spent catalyst to landfill is expensive and there are fewer outlets as more countries block hazardous waste imports, particularly following the Basel convention which controls the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes to ensure it can be done in an environmentally sound manner
- Landfill can be a long-term liability. Valuable metals & opportunities to lower Greenhouse Gas (GHG) targets are lost
Recycling/Reclaiming Pathways
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Accessible version of the Recycling/Reclamation Pathways Visual
This visual is a high level flow diagram which depicts the pathways for reclaiming vanadium compounds from the pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processing of spent catalyst and gasification ash. Also depicted are the subsequent resulting intermediate and end products that can be produced.
The visual depicts the following from left to right:
- Spent Catalysts and Gasification Ash undergo the Pyrometallurgical Process and/or Hydrometallurgical process
- The Pyrometallurgical and Hydrometallurgical processes recover and produce Ferrovanadium (FeV) and Vanadium Pentoxide (V2O5), respectively
- Ferrovanadium is then used to produce high strength allow steel (HSLA) which can be used to construct lighter weight structures such as bridges
- Vanadium Pentoxide can be used in production of aircraft and jet engines as well as to produce vanadium electrolytes used in vanadium redox flow batteries which in turn provide energy storage for electrical grids powered by renewable resources such as solar and wind. These batteries help to stabilize the grids during periods of reduced electricity production
Leading Process Technology Delivers:
- Ferrovanadium for use in high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel enables a 20-40% reduction in steel use, significantly reducing resource use and transport-related CO2 emissions
- High purity V2O5 for Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (VRFB) energy storage applications, enabling renewable power growth
- Approximately 80% lower CO2 emissions than primary extraction processing
- Renewable targets to achieve GHG goals
Management Team
Meet the Shell & AMG Recycling B.V. Management Team.
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