# Removing Hydrocarbons, etc... From Cat Before AR Reflux.



## Tomac1 (Mar 2, 2012)

When refining cats in AR, I've been refluxing them in HCL before refluxing in AR to remove all the Hydrocarbons and other junk.

I'm trying to save money on chemicals, does anyone know about the lowest solid to liquid ratio you can get away with and still get the job done?

I've never attempted the process without an HCL bath before the AR reflux, I was told the PGMs will re-precipitate otherwise. 

Tomac1

PS: Also, looking for a new supplier of HCL,HN03, Ammonium Chloride, and Potassium Iodide.


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## skippy (Mar 3, 2012)

Red heat and oxygen will remove carbon, the greasy carbon deposits tend to float too so you can remove a lot of the carbon from crushed catalyst just by stirring with water. Or from the whole catalyst with a water jet.
Do you find the HCl does a better job than water? I'd never heard of anyone doing a pre rinse with HCl for the purpose of removing carbon. 
One thing I would be leary about is adding HCl can sometimes put PGMs into solution, which I blame on the cerium (iv) oxide in the catalyst forming chlorine in the HCl. At which point you have dissolved values interacting with the carbon, which is what we were trying to avoid. Just a potential pitfall, I can't say whether an HCl wash is worthwhile.


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