Patent ID: 7740685

Claim:
A process for recovering catalyst coating metals from a catalytic converter assembly where a catalyst coating material is bonded to a metal supporting structure, the method comprising the steps of: a) contacting the catalyst coating material supported on the metal supporting structure of the catalytic converter assembly with a liquid sodium hydroxide solution consisting of about 51 percent water and about 49 percent sodium hydroxide for a period of time sufficient to allow penetration of the solution; b) removing the catalytic converter assembly from the liquid sodium hydroxide solution; c) draining excess solution from the converter assembly; d) heating the catalytic converter assembly in a furnace at approximately 600 C for at least about one hour; e) removing the catalytic converter assembly from the furnace; f) cooling the catalytic converter assembly; and g) removing the catalyst coating material from the converter assembly, wherein the process breaks a bond between the catalytic coating material and the metal in the supporting structure.