Economic assesment of vanadium reduction from vanadium pentoxide using plasma

The basic properties and uses of vanadium are discussed. The occurrence of vanadium and classical methods of vanadium extraction are described. The main principles of vanadium reduction from pure vanadium pentoxide in a plasma furnace are outlined. The costs of raw material, reductor and plasma production per 1 kg of reduced vanadium are given. It was established that raw material and processing costs represent about 1% of the price of pure vanadium. (author)