Palladium Recovery

An improved process for palladium gets adsorbed into silica gel pores.

CSIR-CSMCRI developed two alternative routes for the recovery of palladium (palladium chloride) from spent silica. After optimizing the process parameters, i.e., calcination temperature, acid concentration, water content and digestion time, the party was called for process demonstration. The process was demonstrated to the party successfully at 10 kg Calcined silica batch (in three batches).

• Thermal treatment of spent silica at reasonably lower temperature of less than 450° C.
• Recovery of palladium with 99Â?100% recovery as palladium chloride.
• Recovery of palladium without resorting to the use expensive and hazardous organic solvent and complexing ligands.
• Recovery of pure palladium without destroying structure of the inorganic support silica.
• Possibility of recovering expensive phthalocyamine ligands as well as silica as a value added product.