Extraction of sulfur and vanadium from petroleum coke by means of salt-roasting treatment

Syrian petroleum coke samples were characterized and submitted for salt-roasting treatment in an electric furnace to evaluate the convenience of this procedure for the extraction of the vanadium and sulfur from coke. The solution and solid residue remaining after salt-roasting both were separated by filtration and were analyzed for vanadium and sulfur. The solution was analyzed by UV-vis spectroscopy and gravimetrically for vanadium and sulfur, respectively. The solid residue and the untreated samples of petroleum coke were analyzed by XRF spectrometry. Results showed that more than 90 wt% of sulfur and 60 wt% of vanadium could be extracted by the salt-roasting treatment. An alternative procedure has been suggested, in which, more than 80% of sulfur and a small percentage of vanadium can be leached by 0.75 M of Na2CO3 solution at 70-80 degrees C. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.