Extraction Mechanism of V, Nb, and Ge from Primary Vanadium Shale by Microwave Sulfuric Acid Baking–Water Leaching
摘要
The effective exploitation of primary vanadium shale is crucial for mitigating supply conflict in the vanadium market; nevertheless, the existing methods for extracting vanadium (V) from vanadium shale are challenging to align with primary vanadium shale. This work examines the mechanism of extracting V from primary vanadium shale by microwave sulfuric acid baking-water leaching process, and concerns the leaching of associated metals niobium (Nb) and germanium (Ge). The results showed that due to the strong microwave absorption ability of concentrated sulfuric acid, the microwave absorption ability of shale is increased by 17 times, thereby increasing the heating rate of shale by about 3 times. Microwave can break the constraints of molecular desorption rate and mass transfer rate caused by conventional heating, accelerating the destruction of the muscovite structure and improving the efficiency of valence state conversion and sulfate conversion of V, Nb, and Ge. During the baking period, the release of water vapor leads to the formation of loose and porous structure inside the baked product, promoting the dissolution of V, Nb, and Ge in the leaching period. At the optimized conditions, the leaching rates of V, Nb, and Ge reach 91.56, 90.29, and 81.39 pct. This work reveals the microwave baking law and mechanism of primary shale vanadium and lays a theoretical foundation for the efficient exploitation of intractable mica-type minerals.