The Dissolution of Vanadium in Silica Sand with Organic and Inorganic Acids

Abstract

Being one of the important rare elements, vanadium is mainly used for the production of certain alloys. Various methods have been adopted so far for the recovery of vanadium. New methods are also being tried together with the developing technology and such methods have been included in the literature. The sample of the silica sand used within the scope of this study was taken from the silica sand beneficiation facility of a private mining company operating in Sile, Istanbul. In such facility, raw silica sand was filtered through a scrubber first and then sized with the help of a hydrocyclone and a hydrosizer and taken to the beneficiation facility. Several characterization tests and leaching tests with organic and inorganic acids were conducted for the recovery of vanadium from the sample and the dissolution conditions of vanadium with the best grade and efficiency were investigated. Following such leaching tests, the best result for vanadium dissolution was obtained with hydrofluoric acid. As a result of 2-hours leaching process performed with 800 kg/tons hydrofluoric acid amount under 40 degrees C, the dissolution efficiency of vanadium was found as 76%.