Processing strategy for catalytic residues containing vanadium

Abstract

Vanadium is a strategic element which is on the list of raw materials in a critical state, mainly due to the depletion of the mineral deposits that contain it, so it is important to recover it from industrial wastes that contain it. Among these wastes are the spent catalysts from the manufacture of sulfuric acid, which contain between 4-9 % of V2O 5, and are therefore classified as contaminants. The objective of the work is to develop a strategy for processing catalytic residues from sulfuric acid manufacture, to recover the vanadium contained in them, without generating new pollutant residues. The work proposes a hydrometallurgical processing strategy for the waste from the Patricio Lumumba Plant, which consists of leaching with sulfuric acid and subsequent precipitation with sodium carbonate. The result is a recovered product with ∼38 % V2O 5. On the other hand, the process generates a solid residue, consisting of 98 % silica, and a liquid residue consisting mainly of sodium sulfate and water. The proposed process allows the recovery of vanadium in the form of concentrate and the generation of two new residues, without vanadium, which can be used in other applications. The developed process constitutes a viable alternative for the processing of spent catalysts from the manufacture of sulfuric acid, which allows the recovery of a metal considered strategic and contributes to the protection of the environment.