Use of Reactivated Spent FCC Catalyst as Adsorbent for Lead (II) Ions from Refinery-based Simulated Wastewater

Improper handling of wastewater from various industries causes environmental pollution. Hence, this study involved using a reactivated spent FCC catalyst, a cheap and reliable adsorbent for Pb2+ removal from refinery-based simulated wastewater. In contrast, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine the optimum operating condition. The adsorptive capacity of the reactivated spent FCC catalyst was observed using different parameters such as temperature, pH, adsorbent dosage, and contact time. At the end of the study, it was found that the optimum condition for removing Pb2+ was at pH of 7, adsorbent dose of 1.75 g, contact time of 75 mins, and temperature of 117 oC. At this condition, the maximum removal efficiency of Pb2+ was found to be 100 %. A quadratic model equation via central composite design under the RSM was developed to predict the Pb2+ removal from all the input parameters. Based on the F-statistic values, the temperature had the greatest influence on the removal of Pb2+ while adsorbent dosage and contact time were also significant.

Towards the Circular Economy of Rare Earth Elements: Lanthanum Leaching from Spent FCC Catalyst by Acids

Rare earth elements (REEs) are strategic materials widely used in different applications from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to catalysis, which are expected to grow more in the future. In order to reduce the impact of market price and reduce the environmental effect from soil extraction, recovery/purification strategies should be exploited. This paper presents a combined acid-leaching/oxalate precipitation process to recover lanthanum from spent FCC catalyst using nitric acid. Preferred to hydrochloric and sulphuric acid (preliminary assessed), HNO3 showed a good capability to completely leach lanthanum. The combination with an oxalate precipitation step allowed demonstrating that a highly pure (>98% w/w) lanthanum solid can be recovered, with a neglectable amount of poisoning metals (Ni, V) contained into the spent catalyst. This could open a reliable industrial perspective to recover and purify REE in the view of a sustainable recycling strategy.

Hidrokarbon Hasil Perengkahan Sampah Polystyrene Foam

Polystyrene foam atau yang lebih dikenal styrofoam banyak digunakan untuk kemasan, bahan kerajinan, dekorasi, bahan bangunan, dan sebagainya. Namun penggunaan polystyrene foam untuk kemasan masih menimbulkan beberapa kontroversi. Beberapa pandangan negatif muncul mengenai penggunaan polystyrene foam seperti menyebabkan masalah kesehatan dan lingkungan. Menurut aspek lingkungan, polystyrene foam merupakan material yang sulit terurai secara alami oleh alam. Penanganan sampah polystyrene foam yang sebatas pembuangan saja akan membebani alam dalam penguraiannya. Oleh karena itu kegiatan pengelolaan sampah polystyrene foam perlu dilakukan. Salah satu metode pengelolaan sampah polystyrene foam untuk dijadikan suatu produk yang lebih berguna dan bermanfaat bagi masyarakat pada masa yang akan datang adalah mengkonversi sampah polystyrene foam menjadi bahan bakar. Bagaimanapun juga dilihat dari bahan dasarnya sampah polystyrene foam berpotensi mempunyai nilai ekonomis sebagai sumber bahan baku jika diolah dengan cara yang tepat yaitu akan menghasilkan hidrokarbon sebagai bahan dasar energi. Konversi sampah polystyrene foam menjadi bahan bakar adalah dengan cara perengkahan sampah polystyrene foam menggunakan katalis (catalytic cracking) yang dijalankan pada suhu lebih rendah daripada thermal cracking. Pada penelitian ini, sampah polystyrene foam direngkah menggunakan katalis H-Zeolit pada suhu 360oC. Hasil perengkahan sampah polystyrene foam dianalisa menggunakan alat GC-MS. Hasil perengkahan sampah polystyrene foam pada suhu 360oC dengan katalis H-Zeolit menghasilkan 85,52% fraksi gasoline dan 7,4% fraksi kerosin dan diesel dengan komposisi fraksi gasoline 100% golongan aromatik. Kandungan senyawa aromatik yang tinggi dalam gasoline bersifat karsinogen, sebagai pembentuk deposit dan penyumbang emisi gas buang berbahaya. Referensi : [1] Miskudin Taufik, “Teluk Jakarta Jadi Sarang Sampah Plastik,” 2019. https://itjen.kemdikbud.go.id/public/post/detail/teluk-jakarta-jadi-sarang-sampah-plastik (accessed Apr. 15, 2021). [2] K. H. Lee, D. H. Shin, and Y. H. Seo, “Liquid-phase catalytic degradation of mixtures of waste high-density polyethylene and polystyrene over spent FCC catalyst. Effect of mixing proportions of reactants,” Polym. Degrad. Stab., vol. 84, no. 1, pp. 123–127, Apr. 2004, doi: 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2003.09.019. [3] Adrian, “Depolimerisasi Katalitik Sampah Plastik menjadi BBM menggunakan Limbah Katalis RFCC Pertamina UP-VI Balongan,” 2013. [4] Nurfathiyahalfi, “Bensin dan Bilangan Oktan.docx - Bensin dan Bilangan Oktan Bensin adalah salah satu jenis bahan bakar minyak yang dimaksudkan untuk kendaraan bermotor | Course Hero,” 2019. https://www.coursehero.com/file/45124238/Bensin-dan-Bilangan-Oktandocx/ (accessed Apr. 15, 2021). [5] Ashadi, “Knocking Archives - Kimia itu Mudah,” 2012. http://ashadisasongko.staff.ipb.ac.id/tag/knocking/ (accessed Apr. 15, 2021). [6] T. H. Soerawidjaja, “Bahan-Bahan Bakar Hidrokarbon Utama : Bensin, Solar, dan Avtur,” 2014. [7] P. Ghosh, K. J. Hickey, and S. B. Jaffe, “Development of a detailed gasoline composition-based octane model,” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 337–345, 2006, doi: 10.1021/ie050811h. [8] Anjar, “Efek Samping Sering Ganti Oktan BBM - Garasi.id,” 2020. https://garasi.id/artikel/ganti-oktan-bbm/59af7a6ce7ed0a12e93bfeec (accessed Apr. 15, 2021).

Utilization of Spent FCC Catalyst as Fine Aggregate in Non-sintered Brick: Alkali Activation and Environmental Risk Assessment

This study focuses on the recycling of a spent fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalyst to produce catalyst-based non-sintered bricks (CN-bricks) for the recovery of its aluminosilicate components and the solidification of heavy metals. The effects of the content of cement (10–20%), the proportion of FCC (10–40%), and the type of an activator (NaOH/Na2SiO3/Na2SO4) on the performance of a CN-brick were investigated in terms of the mechanical strength and leaching behavior. The results show that an optimal binder system of 20% cement + Na2SO4 could promote the compressive strength up to 42.3 MPa; the proportion of an optimal spent FCC catalyst of 20% could achieve the lowest porosity and water absorption. The microscopic mechanism of a cementitious process was analyzed by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), proving that C-S-H and ettringite (AFt) are the two main hydration products of a CN-brick. Na2SO4 is superior to NaOH or Na2SiO3 as an activator since Na2SO4 takes advantage of the aluminum-rich property of a spent FCC catalyst and specifically promote the formation of a needle-like AFt. Quantitative environmental risk assessment for the utilization of a CN-brick on roads was carried out based on the leaching test of a toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP), NEN 7371 maximum availability test, and the hazard Index (HI) identification, and a final HI 0.0045 (<1.0) indicates an acceptable risk for environment and nearby residents as CN-bricks are utilized on roads for 30 years.