Process development for economical processing of various vanadium-bearing raw materials

Three different vanadium-containing byproducts were investigated, with the object of extracting the vanadium economically. Leach residues are formed in the known treatment of vanadium-containing blast furnace slags. It was found possible, by means of reduction with carbon in an electric arc furnace, to carry over 73,5% of the input vanadium into the metal alloy which in addition to 67% Fe and 2% V also contains 7% Cr and 5,5% C. Vanadium-containing fly ash results from the combustion of crude oil. This contains 0,5 to 6 % V. Tests on several processes, such as oxidising roast with subsequent leaching, reducing roast with subsequent leaching with sulphuric acid, and alkali soda roasting, gave widely varying results on the fly ash derived from various sources. The most suitable method must be worked out individually for each material. Vanadium-containing waste salt results from the recovery of aluminium from bauxites. It contains an average of about 4% V and 5% P, as well as 0,5% As. Dissolution of the waste salt in water with the addition of sulphuric acid results in a solution containing 20 g/1 V, from which, after removal of the phosphorus, ammonium polyvanadate can be precipitated by known means. In addition to the recovery of the vanadium the object is also to obtain a saleable phosphorus-containing product. After dissolution and neutralisation of the waste salt, it is possible to obtain with phosphoric acid a secondary sodium phosphate which, however, even after recrystallisation, does not satisfy the purity requirements of the detergent industry. The sodium sulphate/phosphate resulting from the neutralisation with sulphuric acid cannot be used by the phosphate industry, although the secondary sodium phosphate can be so used. A calculation shows however that with this the vanadium recovery is no longer economic