Mining has long been the Australian leading economic driver that has placed Australia among the top five producers of the world’s key mineral commodities. Vanadium is fast becoming an increasingly sought-after material, especially in the energy storage space with the commercialisation of vanadium redox flow batteries for industrial scale energy storage. Vanadium does not form concentrated deposits and is typically extracted as another component in other minerals, which can make its extraction convoluted and inefficient. Presently, there is limited research in the field relating to vanadium extraction/refinement using molten salt mixtures, and there is untapped potential for significantly optimising this extraction process. This project will value add to these sectors providing alternatives for better efficiency and new product streams.
Photograph of powdered vanadium pentoxide, showing its characteristic orange/yellow hue (left), layout of a vanadium redox flow battery, which is a promising large scale energy storage solution (right)
The aim of this project is to develop a novel method for the extraction/refining process of vanadium pentoxide from its ores via the use of molten salts, focusing on optimisation for a low cost, environmentally friendly and low energy consumption process. This will be achieved by using thermodynamic modelling coupled to a risk and cost matrix, with experimental tests carried out to verify and provide a proof of concept. Although there exist several methods for the extraction of vanadium pentoxide from a mix of materials, the method the AMDTR group are proposing functions at a much lower operating temperature and uses a distillation process that is relatively simple and inexpensive.
This method could present a new pathway for not only processing vanadium containing compounds, but can be applied to other elements of interest such as titanium or nickel. Currently, initial tests are being conducted on a laboratory scale, with the hopes of expanding this technology to a larger industrial scale for the mass processing of vanadium containing ores and other waste materials from other process streams.
The main benefits gained from the outcomes of this research include the following:
- The extractive methodology proposed in this project is novel and provides an alternative pathway that has never been utilised before for processing vanadium containing ores and waste products.
- The proposed method is highly valuable from an economic, commercial and environmental perspective. The materials utilised and the operating temperature regime occurs under conditions that are easier and cheaper to manage.
- This method can be applied to the recovery of other valuable metals from waste streams throughout the processing industry, with the ability to tailor the setup for any operational temperature range, salt type and element of value.
Project Funded by Queensland University of Technology.
Research Partners include Australian Vanadium Limited.