Bacterial leaching of a spent Mo–Co–Ni refinery catalyst using Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans

A spent processing catalyst from an Iranian oil refinery was initially characterized physically and chemically. Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans were used to mobilize Al, Co, Mo and Ni from the spent catalysts under optimized conditions in batch cultures. The characteristics of the bioleach solution (pH, Eh, cell concentration and Fe(II)/Fe(III) concentration) were determined along with the concentration of metal values extracted from the catalyst. The results showed that after bioleaching using A. ferrooxidans in the presence of ferrous sulfate, maximum extractions of 63% Al, 96% Co, 84% Mo and 99% Ni were achieved after 30 days at pH 1.8–2.0. However, the highest extractions using A. thiooxidans in the presence of sulfur were 2.4% Al, 83% Co, 95% Mo and 16% Ni after 30 days at pH 3.9–4.4. The recovery of these metals decreases the environmental impact of the waste catalyst and the recycled product can be further used for industrial purposes.

Research Highlights
► Bioleaching of the spent catalyst was conducted using various adapted strains.
► The one step bioleaching of spent catalysts using acidophilic bacteria was optimized.
► The highest metal extraction value was related to Ni, Co, Mo and Al respectively.