VanadiumThere are relatively few sources of primary vanadium,...

Vanadium

There are relatively few sources of primary vanadium, and the steel industry accounts for nearly 90% of total demand, with chemical catalysts accounting for almost all of the balance.

Vanadium redox batteries for grid energy storage are finding a wider range of applications, but there are concerns over the availability of supply, despite the fact that vanadium is more abundant in nature than lithium.

Changes in China’s high-strength rebar standard to support prior modifications in building codes include high-vanadium-content concrete rebar, which has prompted additional assessment of alternative vanadium sources.

A potential source includes waste steel-making slags, which can be reprocessed to recover a suite of products, including ferrovanadium, high-purity steel and clean slag. An innovative approach to processing vanadium-bearing waste slags involves combining pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical steps, and, particularly, the use of high-temperature roasting of the slag.

The economies of scale needed to be achieved for the electrification of the automotive industry must also be matched by raw material producers, even as the environmental impact of mining operations and mineral extraction plants are kept to a minimum.

Anticipated increases in demand — with limited supply sources —will drive the mining industry to primary sources, often with increasingly complex mineralogy.

Innovation drives end-use markets, and, in turn, this results in innovative flow sheets and adoption of new process technologies.

https://www.northernminer.com/news/commentary-innovation-is-needed-in-processing-of-battery-raw-materials/1003807563/