The Recovery of Vanadium Pentoxide (V₂O₅) from Spent Catalyst Utilized in a Sulfuric Acid Production Plant in Jordan

Vanadium is a significant metal, and its derivatives are widely employed in industry. One of the essential vanadium compounds is vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅), which is mostly recovered from titanomagnetite, uranium-vanadium deposits, phosphate rocks, and spent catalysts. A smart method for the characterization and recovery of vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) was investigated and implemented as a small-scale benchtop model. Several nondestructive analytical techniques, such as particle size analysis, X-ray fluorescence (XRF), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to determine the physical and chemical properties, such as the particle size and composition, of the samples before and after the recovery process of vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅). After sample preparation, several acid and alkali leaching techniques were investigated. A noncorrosive, environmentally friendly extraction method based on the use of less harmful acids was applied in batch and column experiments for the extraction of V₂O₅ as vanadium ions from a spent vanadium catalyst. In batching experiments, different acids and bases were examined as leaching solution agents; oxalic acid showed the best percent recovery for vanadium ions compared with the other acids used. The effects of the contact time, acid concentration, solid-to-liquid ratio, stirring rate, and temperature were studied to optimize the leaching conditions. Oxalic acid with a 6% (w/w) to a 1/10 solid-to-liquid ratio at 300 rpm and 50 °C was the optimal condition for extraction (67.43% recovery). On the other hand, the column experiment with a 150 cm long and 5 cm i.d. and 144 h contact time using the same leaching reagent, 6% oxalic acid, showed a 94.42% recovery. The results of the present work indicate the possibility of the recovery of vanadium pentoxide from the spent vanadium catalyst used in the sulfuric acid industry in Jordan.