METHOD FOR RECOVERING PRECIOUS METALS OF GROUP VIII OF THE PERIODIC SYSTEM OF THE ELEMENTS FROM THE PURE CATALYST SOLUTION RESULTING FROM CARBONYLATING METHYL ACETATE AND / OR DIMETHYL ETHER.

摘要

In this process for recovering noble metals of group VIII from a contaminated catalyst solution originating from the carbonylation of methyl acetate and/or dimethylether (the catalyst solution containing carbonyl complexes of these noble metals, organic or inorganic promoters, undistillable organic contaminants as well as volatiles) the volatiles are distillatively removed from the catalyst solution and the remaining distillation residue is water-treated, whereby the noble metal/carbonyl-complex is precipitated together with the organic contaminants and is separated from the aqueous phase, while the promotor is dissolved and recovered in conventional manner. The noble metals are then set free in elemental form by subjecting the noble metal/carbonyl-complex separated and contaminated with organic polymers at temperatures of 150 DEG to 300 DEG C. to treatment with an ethyleneglycoldialkylether solvent of the formula R(-OCH2-CH2)n-OR, in which n stands for a number of from 1 to 4 and R stands for identical or different alkyl groups having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms. The noble metal can then be recovered by filtration, and the solvent can be freed of organic contaminants by distillation.