금속분말을 환원제로 사용하는 시멘테이션에 의하여 자동차 폐촉매의 침출액과 침출잔사의 세척액으로부터 백금족 금속을 환원 석출시켜 회수하는 연구를 수행하였다. 환원제로 사용한 알루미늄, 마그네슘 그리고 아연이 백금족 금속의 시멘테이션에 미치는 영향을 조사하였으며 알루미늄을 최적 환원제로 선정하였다. 침출액에 19.3 당량의 알루미늄을 첨가하고 $50{sim}60^{circ}C$에서 10분간 시멘테이션을 행하였을 때 백금, 팔라듐, 로듐의 환원석출율은 각각 99.3%, 99.4%, 90.2% 정도 이었다. 또한 세척액에 알루미늄을 45 당량 투입한 후 시멘터이션 반응을 통해 백금, 팔라륨, 로듐을 각각 97%, 97%, 90% 회수할 수 있었다. 그리고 회수한 환원석출물의 금속불순물들을 질산침출로 제거함으로써 백금족 금속의 품위를 약 10% 정도 향상시킬 수 있었다.
The recovery of platinum group metals (PGMs) from the leach solution of spent auto-catalyst and the wash solution of the leach residue was investigated in the laboratory scale experiments by the cementation process using metal powders as the reductant. In this study, the effect of Al, Mg and Zn powders on the cementation process was particularly examined. Aluminum powder was selected as the most suitable reductant for the cementation of PGMs. At the cementation time of 10 minute under the aluminium stoichimetric amount of 19.3 and the reaction temperature of $50{sim}60^{circ}C$, the recovery of platinum group metals from the leach solution of the spent auto-catalyst was found to be 99.3%, 99.4%, 90.2% for Pt, Pd and Rh, respectively. Under the same conditions with the aluminium stoichimetric amount of 45, the recovery of platinum group metals from the wash solution of the leach residue of spent catalyst was observed to be 97%, 97% and 90% for Pt, Pd and Rh, respectively. In addition, it was possible to upgrade the platinum group metals in the precipitates obtained from the cementation process by about 10% through the removal of metal impurities by the nitric acid leaching at ambient temperature.
