Leaching of metals from spent fluid catalytic cracking catalyst using Acidothiobacillus ferrooxidans and comparing its leaching efficiency with organic and inorganic acids

Bioleaching is an eco-friendly alternative for the extraction of metals from the spent fluid catalytic cracking catalyst (SFCCC). Acidothiobacillus ferrooxidans (A. ferrooxidans) are the most widely reported bacteria in leaching but remained unexplored for SFCCC till date. The present study proposes a cleaner, environmentally friendly process to leach metals from SFCCC by A. ferrooxidans. Batch bioleaching of metals was carried out with unadapted and adapted A. ferrooxidans. Experiments were performed by varying the pulp density (PD) (1-20%) at two different initial Fe(II) concentrations i.e. 2 g/L [M2Fe(II)] and 8.84 g/L [M8.84Fe(II)]. The results showed that adapted A. ferrooxidans leached out metals better than unadapted ones. Even though the loss of Iron to Jarosite formation was higher in M8.84Fe(II) than in M2Fe(II), leaching remained higher in M8.84Fe(II). Jarosite formation was minimized by maintaining the pH of the medium to 2 +/- 0.1. Maximum leaching efficiency was observed at 1% PD. At this concentration. A. ferrooxidans growth was triggered which increased the production of Fe(III), thereby increasing leaching efficiency. Increase in PD led to a decrease in metal leaching efficiency. The maximum leaching observed by A. ferrooxidans is Al (35%), Ti (14%), Ni (27%) and V (56.5%). The amount of Al leached (70 mg/gm of SFCCC) suggests SFCCC be the potential secondary source of Al compared to popular secondary sources such as red mud and other spent catalysts. Al and V were better leached by A. ferrooxidans while organic acids were more suitable to extract Ti and Ni from SFCCC.