1615
Efficient Extraction of Vanadium from Vanadium-Bearing Shale
by Ultrasound-Assisted Oxidative Acid Leaching
Shenxu Bao, Bo Chen
Key Laboratory of Green Utilization of Critical Non-metallic Mineral Resources, Ministry of Education,
Wuhan University of Technology
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology
Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment
Yimin Zhang
Key Laboratory of Green Utilization of Critical Non-metallic Mineral Resources, Ministry of Education,
Wuhan University of Technology
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology
Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Mineral Metallurgical Resources Utilization and Pollution Control,
Wuhan University of Science and Technology
ABSTRACT: Ultrasound-assisted leaching (UAL) technique is introduced into the whole hydrometallurgical
extraction process of vanadium from vanadium-bearing shale to solve the problems during the conventional
leaching (CL) process, such as low leaching ratio, long leaching duration, etc. The optimal leaching ratio of
vanadium in the CL process is only 78.02% at 10 h, while that for the UAL process reaches 89.27% at only
3 h. The leaching kinetics of vanadium demonstrates that ultrasound obviously elevate the leaching reaction
rate. Ultrasonic cavitation effect will induce the generation of more holes and cracks, which is conducive to the
release and dissolution of vanadium.
Keywords: Vanadium-bearing shale Whole hydrometallurgical extraction Oxidative leaching Ultrasound
Sulfuric acid
INTRODUCTION
Vanadium entitled as ‘modern industrial monosodium
glutamate’ has been broadly applied in the fields of steel,
metallurgy, aerospace, hydrogen storage materials and so on
ascribing to a series of excellent properties (Zhang et al.,
2011). With the arrival of the new energy revolution, as an
indispensable key metal for the development of strategic
emerging industries, vanadium in the field of new energy,
especially the application of vanadium electric energy
storage and vanadium-based functional materials industry
continues to expand, and its demand for high-purity vana-
dium is also gradually increasing (Kim et al., 2015). Hence,
vanadium has been included in the list of strategic metals
by China, the United States, Japan, the European Union
and other developed countries to ensure national security.
Vanadium-bearing shale is a unique vanadium contain-
ing resources in China, the V2O5 reserves in which is about
118 million tons, accounting for 87% of the total domestic
Efficient Extraction of Vanadium from Vanadium-Bearing Shale
by Ultrasound-Assisted Oxidative Acid Leaching
Shenxu Bao, Bo Chen
Key Laboratory of Green Utilization of Critical Non-metallic Mineral Resources, Ministry of Education,
Wuhan University of Technology
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology
Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment
Yimin Zhang
Key Laboratory of Green Utilization of Critical Non-metallic Mineral Resources, Ministry of Education,
Wuhan University of Technology
School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology
Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment
State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Mineral Metallurgical Resources Utilization and Pollution Control,
Wuhan University of Science and Technology
ABSTRACT: Ultrasound-assisted leaching (UAL) technique is introduced into the whole hydrometallurgical
extraction process of vanadium from vanadium-bearing shale to solve the problems during the conventional
leaching (CL) process, such as low leaching ratio, long leaching duration, etc. The optimal leaching ratio of
vanadium in the CL process is only 78.02% at 10 h, while that for the UAL process reaches 89.27% at only
3 h. The leaching kinetics of vanadium demonstrates that ultrasound obviously elevate the leaching reaction
rate. Ultrasonic cavitation effect will induce the generation of more holes and cracks, which is conducive to the
release and dissolution of vanadium.
Keywords: Vanadium-bearing shale Whole hydrometallurgical extraction Oxidative leaching Ultrasound
Sulfuric acid
INTRODUCTION
Vanadium entitled as ‘modern industrial monosodium
glutamate’ has been broadly applied in the fields of steel,
metallurgy, aerospace, hydrogen storage materials and so on
ascribing to a series of excellent properties (Zhang et al.,
2011). With the arrival of the new energy revolution, as an
indispensable key metal for the development of strategic
emerging industries, vanadium in the field of new energy,
especially the application of vanadium electric energy
storage and vanadium-based functional materials industry
continues to expand, and its demand for high-purity vana-
dium is also gradually increasing (Kim et al., 2015). Hence,
vanadium has been included in the list of strategic metals
by China, the United States, Japan, the European Union
and other developed countries to ensure national security.
Vanadium-bearing shale is a unique vanadium contain-
ing resources in China, the V2O5 reserves in which is about
118 million tons, accounting for 87% of the total domestic