Patent ID: 7858065

Claim:
A process for producing supported ruthenium, comprising oxidizing hydrogen chloride with oxygen in the presence of supported ruthenium to produce chlorine, recovering a ruthenium compound from the supported ruthenium used as a catalyst in production of chlorine by oxidation of hydrogen chloride with oxygen, supporting the ruthenium compound on a carrier, and calcining the resulting supported ruthenium compound under an atmosphere of an oxygen containing gas, wherein the supported ruthenium is a supported ruthenium oxide, the carrier comprises titanium oxide having rutile crystal structure, and the ruthenium compound is ruthenium chloride, and wherein the recovering of ruthenium chloride comprises the steps of: reducing the supported ruthenium compound to convert the ruthenium compound to metallic ruthenium, eluting the metallic ruthenium as an alkali ruthenate in an alkali solution containing a chlorine gas or an oxidative chlorine compound, blowing chlorine gas into the ruthenate solution under heating to oxidatively evaporate the ruthenium, absorbing the evaporated ruthenium in hydrochloric acid, and concentrating the solution to dryness to obtain ruthenium chloride.