Optimization of Soda Ash Roasting-water Leaching Conditions for Vanadium Recovery from a Vanadium-bearing Titaniferous Magnetite Ore

To recover vanadium from vanadium-bearing titaniferous magnetite (VTM) ore, the conditions of the soda ash (Na2CO3) the roasting and water leaching were investigated.The VTM ore contained magnetite and ilmenite as the major minerals, from which a concentrate produced from magnetic separation was used as feed material.The vanadium content in the concentrate was approximately 0.8% as V2O5.The experimental factors considered for the process optimization included the amount of Na2CO3 added, and roasting temperature/time for the salt roasting process, and the particle size (D50) of the roasted material, and the leaching temperature/time for the water leaching process.The results show that the maximum vanadium leaching efficiency of 85.2% was achieved at the following optimal conditions: salt roasting at 20 wt% of Na2CO3, 1,000°C and 3 hr, and the water leaching at D50 of 2.1 µm and 80°C for 1 hr.