Vanadium recovery from clay vanadium mineral using an acid leaching method

A technique including direct acid leaching, vanadium precipitation with alkaline, sodium hydroxide releaching, impurity removing by adjusting pH value, precipitation vanadium with ammonium. chloride, and vanadium pentoxide by roasting steps was proposed according to the characteristic of Xichuan clay vanadium mineral. The factors influencing leaching vanadium such as temperature and the concentration of sulfuric acid were investigated and optimized. The experimental results indicate that the extract ratios Of V2O5 can reach 94% and 92% at a sodium chlorate ratio of 3% and a manganese dioxide ratio of 3%, respectively. A completely chemical precipitation method was adopted to decontaminate and enrich the vanadium in the acid leaching solution. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and the purity analysis of vanadium pentoxide indicate that the purity of final vanadium pentoxide can reach 99% and meet the standard specifications. The total recovery can reach about 75%. The technique has the characteristics of simplicity, less investment, and more environment safety as compared with the traditional salt roasting method.