Abstract
Platinum group metal catalysts have been developed for synthesis of chemicals and intermediates due to their unique activity and selectivity in such reaction as hydrogenation and oxidation. Recently, the increased importance of environmental control catalysts now represent the largest single application and one that is likely to evolve further in terms of the technology due to the increased demand for a clean up of vehicle exhaust fumes. Thus, the demand for platinum group metals has increased because of their applications in the automobile industry as emission control catalysts. Consequently, it is necessary to establish recycling technology for spent catalysts containing platinum group metals. This paper will describe some examples of practical operations to recover platinum group metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium from spent catalysts.
