Recovery Of Platinum Group Metals Research Articles

High acidity- and radiation-resistant triazine-based POPs for recovery of Pd(II) from nuclear fission products

The recovery of platinum group metals (PGMS) from high-level radioactive liquid waste (HLLW) not only has a complementary role in alleviating the shortage of rare precious metals but also is helpful for the final disposal of radioactive waste. In this work, a new cationic covalent triazine framework (CTF) named as cationic pyridyl triazine polymeric network (CPTPN) is designed and synthesized by ZnCl2-catalyzed ionothermal method for recovering of Pd(II) from HLLW. The excremental results shows that palladium can be efficiently adsorbed by CPTPN from 3 M HNO3 solution via anion exchange with fast adsorption kinetics with adsorption equilibrium reached in 10 min. The adsorption isotherm for Pd(II) follows the Langmuir model, which reveals the maximum adsorption capacity (qm) of 339.8 mg g−1 and 389.7 mg g−1 at 3 M HNO3 for CPTPN-Cl and CPTPN-NO3 , respectively. Further studies show that the qm of CPTPN-NO3 in 6 M HNO3 can reach a higher level at 428.6 mg g−1, which is the highest record for Pd(II) recovery in 6 M HNO3. In addition to high thermal stability, CPTPN exhibits a good irradiation stability with excellent adsorption performance maintained after 1000 kGy of γ-irradiation. Furthermore, CPTPN has an excellent adsorption selectivity for Pd(II) in simulated HLLW. Although the selectivity of CPTPN-Cl for Pd(II) is found to be unsatisfactory due to the significant co-adsorption of Ag(I), this problem can be well solved by changing Cl− ions in CPTPN-Cl to NO3−. Both CPTPN-Cl and CPTPN-NO3 show excellent reusability in 5 adsorption–desorption cycles. Thus, CPTPN can be considered as a candidate adsorbent that can tolerate high irradiation and high acidity for selective recovery of Pd(II) from HLLW.

Slag design and iron capture mechanism for recovering low-grade Pt, Pd, and Rh from leaching residue of spent auto-exhaust catalysts

Recovery of platinum group metals (PGMs) from secondary resources has attracted worldwide attention from environmental and economic points of view. Pyrometallurgical routes exhibit the superiority in terms of efficiency and contamination control compared to hydrometallurgical process. However, traditional pyrometallurgical processes face the challenges of excessive flux and energy consumption. In this paper, an iron capture process was proposed to recover low-grade PGMs from leaching residue of spent auto-exhaust catalysts. Slag design was explored aimed at reducing the addition amount of flux. The optimized smelting conditions were as follows: 1400 °C for 30 min, adding 40.0 wt% CaO, 22.7 wt% Na2CO3, 5.0 wt% Na2B4O7, 5.0 wt% CaF2, 15.0 wt% Fe, and 5.0 wt% C. The concentrations of Pt, Pd and Rh remaining in the smelting slag were 0.83 g/t, 4.99 g/t, and 1.47 g/t, respectively. Furthermore, the 50 kg-scale experiment implied positive economic feasibility because of saving flux dosage and smelting time. The capture mechanism was revealed by investigating the formation of the metals phase and slag phase. Matrix formed slag phase and separate with metals phase owing to differences in chemical bonding, density, viscosity, and surface tension. PGMs were proved solubilized in α-Fe as substitutional solid solutions. The formation energies for FePt, FePd, and FeRh alloys were −4.149 eV, −4.040 eV, and −4.360 eV, respectively. Finally, the obtained CaO-SiO2-Al2O3-Na2O glass slag was used for producing glass ceramics. To sum up, the iron capture process realized low energy and material consumption, high recovery efficiency of PGMs, and resource utilization of the glass slag.

Recovery of platinum-group metals from spent catalysts by microwave smelting

The feasibility of a facile route to recover platinum-group metals (PGMs) from spent catalyst by microwave smelting of spent catalyst with the additions of nickel matte as metal collector and sodium salts as fluxes was verified, based on the thermodynamic and experimental analyses which evaluated the dielectric properties, conductivities/resistances and viscosities of the materials involved in the smelting process. The results showed that the combined use of sodium salts reduced the viscosity and smelting temperature effectively by breaking the silicon-oxygen tetrahedron structure which facilitated the collection of PGMs and the separation of PGMs-enriched nickel matte from smelting slag. In association with the eddy current loss and swirling sedimentation effect produced by microwave heating, 98.59% of Pt, 97.91% of Pd and 97.16% of Rh were collected under the optimal smelting conditions of the mass ratios of nickel matte, Na2B4O7 and Na2CO3 to spent catalyst of 1.25, 0.575 and 0.125, respectively, temperature of 1250 °C, time of 2 h, and N2 atmosphere. This new strategy enabled rapid collection of PGMs from spent catalyst at the low temperature within a short time, contributing to energy conservation and environmental protection.

Recovery of platinum group metals from spent automotive catalysts: A review

In the last decades, a worldwide investment in the recovery or substitution of platinum group metals (PGMs) has been financed. PGMs have been classified as critical raw materials (CRMs), thus a circular economy model should be implemented for their effective recovery. PGM recovery from primary ores is expensive, due to low concentrations of their ores (lower than 10 g/tn) and sophisticated processes implicated, while secondary resources have been proven technoeconomically feasible sources for PGM recycling. Secondary resources of PGMs, such as spent automotive catalytic converters, contain considerably higher PGM concentrations than their corresponding ores. It is estimated that spent automotive catalytic converters deliver more than 57% of PGMs’ European supply, being considered a crucial resource for PGM recovery. Novel recovery techniques focus not only on high recovery rates, but also on cost efficiency and environmental protection. From an industrial viewpoint, pyrometallurgy is the dominant recovery technique, hydrometallurgy is secondly chosen and biometallurgy (bioleaching, bioabsorption) is applied for lab-scale recovery -at this moment. In the present review, all major PGM recovery techniques are presented and discussed. Hydrometallurgical processes could gain a foothold in industrial scale recycling, by adopting a direct, sustainable leaching design. Milder leaching conditions, greener solvents and high solid mass leached, are the keys for the hydrometallurgical upscaling.

Co-treatment of spent automotive catalyst and cyanide tailing via vitrification and smelting-collection process for platinum group metals recovery

In this study, a novel technology for the co-treatment of spent automotive catalyst (SAC) and cyanide tailing (CT) was proposed. The mixed waste material of SAC and CT were subjected to carbon thermal reduction-smelting with the addition of flux of CaO and Na2B4O7. The platinum group metals (PGMs)-containing iron alloy (Fe-PGMs alloy) and the non-hazardous glass slag were successfully obtained. The optimum conditions for this technology are that the addition of CT, addition of reducing agent, addition of Na2B4O7, basicity, smelting temperature, and holding time for PGMs recovery rate was 30 wt%, 12 wt%, 5 wt%, 0.7–0.8, 1550 °C, and 60 min, respectively. Under these conditions, over 99% of PGMs can be recovered from the mixed waste materials and the content in the produced glass slag was below 5 g/t. Meanwhile, the total Fe content in obtained Fe-PGMs alloy was approximately 85% and its recovery was up to 90%. Furthermore, the mechanism was discussed, which can be divided into three processes: reduction and melting, migration and collection, and alloy formation. Besides, the results of the toxicity characteristics of glass slag indicated that heavy metal and the metalloid of arsenic (As) in the produced glass slag were successfully immobilized, which confirmed the produced glass slag can be taken as non-hazardous slag. Therefore, the co-treatment approach of SAC and CT proposed in this paper is an economical and environmentally friendly technology to recover the PGMs from SAC.

Recovery of platinum group metals from a spent automotive catalyst using polymer inclusion membranes containing an ionic liquid carrier

Spent automotive catalysts (SACs) are the most abundant secondary source of platinum group metals (PGMs), but the recycling of these materials is quite challenging. In the present study, we assessed the recovery of Pt, Pd, and Rh from a SAC leachate solution using polymer inclusion membranes (PIMs) containing the ionic liquid trioctyl(dodecyl) phosphonium chloride (P88812Cl). After pretreatment of the SAC using a reducing agent, metals could be extracted using relatively dilute acid solutions. The selective transport of PGMs from such solutions was demonstrated with two types of membranes having the same chemical composition: an isotropic dense membrane (ID-PIM) and an anisotropic porous membrane (AP-PIM). Using the ID-PIM, more than 90% of Pt and Pd in the SAC extraction solutions could be recovered with remarkably high purity. In contrast, the AP-PIM could recover Pt, Pd, and Rh in reasonable yields and purities with dramatically faster transport kinetics. Both membrane types demonstrated excellent durability with no loss of carrier molecules over a 10-day exposure to various harsh chemicals.

Ion flotation of palladium by using cationic surfactants – Effects of chloride ions

Separation and recovery of platinum group metals (PGM) from dilute solutions have been examined using precipitation, ion exchange, and solvent extraction. Flotation separation of palladium (Pd) was investigated in the current study. Experimental results showed that Cl− forms complexes with Pd2+ ion and rendered Pd more soluble. Changes of speciation and solubility of Pd affected flotation separation significantly. Separation efficiency of Pd at pH 2.0 increased from 4.9%–79.4% as Cl− concentration increased from 1.4 × 10-3 to 0.1 M when using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the collector. Different collectors showed various removal efficiencies, and CTAB and 1-hexadecyltrimethylammonium chloride (HDTAC) resulted in effective separation of Pd among four cationic collectors used. Effects of collector dose on Pd removal efficiency were discussed as well. The electrostatic interaction between cationic collector and anionic Pd-Cl species (PdCl3− and/or PdCl42-) was the main mechanism for Pd flotation separation. It was demonstrated that flotation separation of Pd could be an effective technology for dilute systems.

Hydrometallurgical recovery of platinum group metals from spent automotive converters

Hydrometallurgical recovery of platinum group metals from spent automotive converters

Precious metals recovery from aqueous solutions using a new adsorbent material

Platinum group metals (PGMs) palladium, platinum, and ruthenium represent the key materials for automotive exhaust gas treatment. Since there are no adequate alternatives, the importance of these metals for the automotive industry is steadily rising. The high value of PGMs in spent catalysts justifies their recycling. Therefore, it is really important to recovery platinum group metals from aqueous solutions. Of the many PGMs recovery procedures, adsorption is a process with a good efficiency, but an important role is played by the adsorbent material used into the process. In order to improve the adsorption properties of materials were developed new methods for chemical modification of the solid supports, through functionalization with different extractants. In present paper a new adsorbent material (Chitosan-DB18C6) was used for PGMs recovery. The new adsorbent material was produced by impregnating Chitosan with dibenzo-18-crown-6-ether using Solvent Impregnated Resin (SIR) method. The crown ethers were chosen as extractant due to their known ability to bind metallic ions, whether they are symmetrically or unsymmetrically substituted. In order to determine the PGMs recovery efficiency for new prepared adsorbent material the equilibrium and kinetic studies were performed. Also, to study the PGMs adsorption mechanism the experimental data were modelled using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second order kinetic models. Experimental data were fitted with three equilibrium isotherm models: Langmuir, Freundlich and Sips. The results proved that new adsorbent material (Chitosan-DB18C6) is an efficient adsorbent for PGMs recovery from aqueous solutions.

Recovery of Palladium(II) and Platinum(IV) in Novel Extraction Systems.

Recovery of platinum group metals (PGM) from complex aqueous solutions generated as a result of leaching of various spent materials (e.g., spent automotive converters) is a vital issue in the context of the circular economy. In this study pyridinium derivatives containing an imidoamide or imine moiety (i.e., 3-[1-(2-ethylhexyloxyimine)methane]-1-propylpyridinium chloride, 3-[1-(decyloxyimine)methane]-1-propylpyridinium chloride, 3-[1-(decyloxyimine)ethane]-1-propylpyridinium chloride and 4-[1-amine(2-ethylhexyloxyimine)]-1-propylpyridinium chloride) are proposed as novel extractants for recovery of palladium(II) and platinum(IV) from model chloride aqueous solutions. The results of liquid-liquid extraction from one-component solutions of palladium(II) or platinum(IV) showed that quaternary pyridinium salts can be used as effective extractants for platinum metal ions. Moreover, PGM extraction from a two-component mixture proved no evident selectivity in the transfer of one of the metal ions to the organic phase. As the best extractant among the investigated ones, D3EI-PrCl (with straight alkyl chain at substituent) can be pointed out, however, problems with effective stripping or phase disengagement after stripping should be indicated as a drawback of the organic phases used. Further investigation should focus on the improvement of the organic phase properties (e.g., increase in hydrophobicity of the extractants and addition of an organic phase modifier) towards stripping efficiency.

Platinum Group Metals Recovery Using Secondary Raw Materials (PLATIRUS): Project Overview with a Focus on Processing Spent Autocatalyst

PLATInum group metals Recovery Using Secondary raw materials (PLATIRUS), a European Union (EU) Horizon 2020 project, aims to address the platinum group metal (pgm) supply security within Europe by developing novel and greener pgm recycling processes for autocatalysts, mining and electronic wastes. The initial focus was on laboratory-scale research into ionometallurgical leaching, microwave assisted leaching, solvometallurgical leaching, liquid separation, solid phase separation, electrodeposition, electrochemical process: gas-diffusion electrocrystallisation and selective chlorination. These technologies were evaluated against key performance indicators (KPIs) including recovery, environmental impact and process compatibility; with the highest scoring technologies combining to give the selected PLATIRUS flowsheet comprising microwave assisted leaching, non-conventional liquid-liquid extraction and gas-diffusion electrocrystallisation. Operating in cascade, the PLATIRUS flowsheet processed ~1.3 kg of spent milled autocatalyst and produced 1.2 g palladium, 0.8 g platinum and 0.1 g rhodium in nitrate form with a 92–99% purity. The overall recoveries from feedstock to product were calculated as 46 ± 10%, 32 ± 8% and 27 ± 3% for palladium, platinum and rhodium respectively. The recycled pgm has been manufactured into autocatalysts for validation by end users. This paper aims to be a project overview, an in‐depth technical analysis into each technology is not included. It summarises the most promising technologies explored, the technology evaluation, operation of the selected technologies in cascade, the planned recycled pgm end user validation and the next steps required to ready the technologies for implementation and to further validate their potential.

Toward the Recovery of Platinum Group Metals from a Spent Automotive Catalyst with Supported Ionic Liquid Phases

We present a novel approach for the separation and recovery of Pt and Pd leached from a spent automotive catalyst relying on conventional and polymerized supported ionic liquid phases (SILPs and polySILPs, respectively). A variety of parameters with possible effects on the separation behavior, namely, acidity and concentration of the platinum group metal (PGM) containing solution, as well as different SILP and polySILP loadings, were evaluated for the separation of PGMs in the presence of high concentrations of Al, Fe, Zn, and Ce. The polySILP material demonstrated the ability to separate the PGMs from major accompanying interferences in a single separation step, while problems arising from ionic liquid leaching in the case of SILPs could be avoided. Moreover, the use of supported ionic liquid phases allowed the drastic reduction of the amount of required ionic liquid compared to conventional liquid–liquid separation, while avoiding problems arising from emulsion formation. Subsequent stripping experiments lead to further purification of the PGMs and finally desorption from the solid material into a pure solution. Eventually, the concept of chemisorbed polySILPs provides a new and convenient approach for the recycling of platinum group metals.

Solvometallurgical Recovery of Platinum Group Metals from Spent Automotive Catalysts

Extraction and separation of platinum group metals (PGMs) from secondary raw materials are usually carried out via hydrometallurgical processes. These processes use strongly oxidizing acidic solutions, such as aqua regia or hydrochloric acid in the presence of chlorine gas, which may have negative environmental impacts and are dangerous. In this paper, a solvometallurgical approach was developed for the sustainable recovery of PGMs from spent automotive exhaust catalysts. The PGMs were leached using FeCl3 or CuCl2 as oxidizing agents in the organic solvents dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) or acetonitrile (CH3CN). Palladium was quantitatively dissolved in CuCl2/CH3CN, CuCl2/DMSO, and FeCl3/DMSO with only 10–20% codissolution of Pt and Rh. By adjusting the concentration of the oxidizing agent in CH3CN, Pd was selectively leached with 0.01 mol L–1 FeCl3, whereas Pt and Rh could be dissolved in a more concentrated FeCl3 solution (0.3 mol L–1). The solvoleaching of PGMs was investigated in depth by UV–vis spectra and electrochemical properties (i.e., cyclic voltammograms and formal reduction potentials of the Fe3+/Fe2+ and Cu2+/Cu+ couples in DMSO and CH3CN). After leaching, CH3CN was easily recovered by distillation. The Pd-containing residue was dissolved in water, from which Pd sponge was produced by reduction with formic acid. Meanwhile, the residue containing the solid chloride salts of Fe(III), Pt(IV), and Rh(III) was redissolved in ethylene glycol or DMSO for further purification by nonaqueous solvent extraction (NASX). The ionic liquid Aliquat 336 diluted in p-cymene showed selective extraction of Fe(III) and Pt(IV) while leaving Rh(III) in the raffinate. The loaded ionic liquid was recycled after selective stripping of Fe(III) with water and Pt(IV) with a thiourea solution. A flow sheet comprising solvoleaching and NASX is proposed. The closed-loop solvoleaching of PGMs with less-hazardous chemicals (FeCl3/CH3CN) avoids the emission of toxic or flammable gases (Cl2, H2, and NOx) while reducing the consumption of acids and bases and limiting the generation of waste water. In addition, NASX with an ionic liquid may be a more sustainable alternative for the conventional separation of PGMs.

The Removal of Platinum Group Metals, Cs, Se, and Te from Nuclear Waste Glass Using Liquid Sb Extraction and Phase Separation Methods.

Recovery of platinum group metals (PGMs: Pd, Ru, Rh), Cs, Se, and Te from molten borosilicate glass containing simulated high level radwaste through the combination of liquid metal extraction and phase separation method under reductive heat-treatment was studied. In this process, the PGMs were extracted in recovered liquid metal phase, where Sb and Bi metals were used as the collecting metals. Meanwhile, Cs, Se, and Te were enriched in the phase separated potassium-rich materials on glass surface, which were extracted by water. The type of liquid metals had profound influence on the extraction behaviors of PGMs and other fission products from the glass melt. As a result, except the near extraction efficiency of Pd, Sb showed higher affinity for Ru and Rh than Bi metal. The higher phase separation efficiency of potassium-rich materials led to the higher extraction efficiencies of Cs, Se, and Te in liquid Sb extraction than Bi. Among the examined conditions, using liquid Sb extraction, the Pd, Ru, and Rh extraction efficiencies were 78.6%, 62.1% and 100% in liquid Sb metal phase, and 93.76% of Cs, 60.4% of Se, and 23.65% of Te in leachate were obtained.

Metals smelting-collection method for recycling of platinum group metals from waste catalysts: A mini review.

Platinum group metals (PGMs) are widely applied in the field of catalysts due to their excellent catalyst activity and high-temperature stability. The rapid generation of the waste catalyst has become the significant characteristic of PGMs with the accelerating consumption of limited PGMs nature resources. It is necessary to recover/recycle PGMs from a waste catalyst for both economic and environmental benefits. This paper reviews the PGMs recovery from waste catalysts using a metals smelting-collection process, which belongs to the main pyrometallurgical process, in the presence of various metal collectors, such as lead, copper, iron, matte, print circuit board (PCB) or reactive metals of calcium and magnesium. The current status of recovery of PGMs from waste catalysts through the addition of various metals as the collector is discussed and existing advantages and challenges are highlighted in this paper. Meanwhile, in the view of the promising processes of PGMs recovery, the influencing factors such as the economic, environmentally friendly, sustainable recycling, commercial scale, and low-grade materials are considered.

Leaching of platinum group metals from spent automotive catalysts using organic acids

An efficient and environmentally friendly new process is described for the recovery of platinum group metals from spent automotive catalysts. The process consists of the application of mechanical processing followed by heat treatment and leaching, with the aim of reducing the use of acids that can have adverse effects in the environment. The extraction of PGMs was carried out using HCl associated with malic, formic, and citric acids. Evaluation was made of the effects of parameters including acid concentration, volumes of inorganic and organic acids, solid to liquid (S/L) ratio, and extraction time. The automotive catalyst powders were characterized using XRD, SEM/EDS, particle size distribution, and EDXRF techniques. The spent automotive catalysts contained reasonable concentrations of Pt and Pd. Over 90% of the Pt and Pd could be recovered in a leaching process using 6 M HCl, S/L ratio of 1:30, and 20% (v/v) citric acid. The findings showed that citric acid can be used in the recovery of PGMs from spent automotive catalysts, decreasing the use of aggressive and corrosive acids often employed in the recovery of these metals. Hence, the addition of organic acids can contribute to efficient and environmentally friendly processes for the recovery of Pt and Pd.

Processing of platinum group metal ores in Russia and South Africa: current state and prospects

The presented study is devoted to a comparative review of the mineral raw material base of platinum group metals (PGMs) and technologies of their processing in South Africa and Russia, the largest PGM producers. Mineralogical and geochemical classification and industrial value of iron-platinum and platinum-bearing deposits are presented in this work. The paper also reviews types of PGM ore body occurrences, ore processing methods (with a special focus on flotation processes), as well as difficulties encountered by enterprises at the processing stage, as they increase recovery of the valuable components. Data on mineralogical features of PGM deposits, including the distribution of elements in the ores, are provided. The main lines of research on mineralogical features and processing of raw materials of various genesis are identified and validated. 
 Sulfide deposits are found to be of the highest industrial value in both countries. Such unconventional PGM sources, as black shale, dunites, chromite, low-sulfide, chromium and titanomagnetite ores, anthropogenic raw materials, etc. are considered. The main lines of research that would bring into processing non-conventional metal sources are substantiated.
 Analysis of new processing and metallurgical methods of PGM recovery from non-conventional and industrial raw materials is conducted; the review of existing processing technologies for platinum-bearing raw materials is carried out. Technologies that utilize modern equipment for ultrafine grinding are considered, as well as existing reagents for flotation recovery; evaluation of their selectivity in relation to platinum minerals is presented.
 Basing on the analysis of main technological processes of PGM ore treatment, the most efficient schemes are identified, i.e.,gravity and flotation treatment with subsequent metallurgical processing.

Recovery of platinum group metals using magnetic nanoparticles modified with ionic liquids

The development of a principally new approach to preparation of IL-modified magnetic nanoparticles and their application as sorbent materials for recovery of platinum group metals from model technological solutions are described. The formation of Fe3O4 nanoparticles, their simultaneous coating with a polymer shell and an ionic liquid are implemented in aqueous biphasic systems by a single step synthesis. Different ionic liquids have been tested as modifying agents: Cyphos® IL 101, Cyphos® IL 110, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate. The prepared magnetic nanoparticles have been characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and applied as sorbents for magnetic solid-phase extraction of platinum metals from chloride solutions. The results indicate that the recovery of the platinum metals from (0.1 M HCl + 1 M NaCl) solution is 99% for Pd(II) and 98% for Pt(IV) within 30 min and their quantitative stripping can be achieved using 2 M HNO3 solution.

End-of-life recycling rates of platinum group metals in the automotive industry: Insight into regional disparities

Platinum group metals, as the rarest elements in the lithosphere, are technological enablers in many modern industrial processes, especially in the automotive industry. Due to the limited availability of natural resources, increasing the recycling rate is essential for securing the supply of platinum group metals. This paper estimates the end-of-life recycling rates of platinum group metals in the automotive industry at the regional level during the period 2000–2017. The results show that in North America, Europe and Japan, the end-of-life recycling rates increased from very low levels in 2000 to above 50% in 2017. In contrast, they stayed at a significantly lower level in China. In-use stocks of platinum group metals in the automotive industry of North America, Europe, Japan and China reached over 3.65 kt in 2017 and included 1.33 kt of platinum, 1.95 kt of palladium and 0.37 kt of rhodium. These in-use stocks represent a major opportunity for secondary platinum group metal recovery. The priority for recycling improvement should be increasing the collection rate.

A new approach to recover platinum-group metals from spent catalytic converters via iron matte

Decreasing stocks of natural resources and continuously increasing demand for platinum-group metals (PGMs) sustain interest in studies on spent catalytic converters. Recycling spent catalytic converters to extract PGMs not only provides raw materials for the precious metals sector, but also provides a sustainable recycling method for further development. However, recovering PGMs is hard since the catalytic converters contain refractory compounds. In the present study, a pyrometallurgical iron matte process was adopted to separate PGMs from spent catalytic converters. PGM recovery using the classical iron smelting process requires very high temperatures (~2000 °C), but the smelting temperature used in this process was less than 50% that of the classical process. The influences of the B2O3/Na2O ratio, S/Fe ratio, iron source, reaction temperature, and reaction time on the recovery of PGMs from catalytic converters were investigated in detail. The highest recovery percentages were 99% Pt, 99% Pd, and 97% Rh at 950 °C for 75 min. with the addition of 3 times flux (0.72 wt/wt, B2O3/Na2O) of spent catalytic converters and 10 g of FeS2 with a corresponding enrichment factor of around 6.0. In fact, these findings encouraged the further development of the process since no one needs elemental sulfur because SO2 is easily produced from the burning of elemental sulfur with air at low temperatures, and avoiding the recovery of sulfur reduced the process’ energy consumption and was also environmentally friendly.