Papers by Author: Shao Na Wang

Abstract: In this paper, the simulation of a typical hydrometallurgy process using METSIM has been discussed, and the function of METSIM in calculating mass balance for different hydrometallurgical operation units has been addressed. Preliminary results suggest that METSIM is able to calculate the mass balance of complicated hydrometallurgy processes including ore decomposition, dissolution, crystallization separation, and etc.

Abstract: The redox behavior of vanadate ions at glassy carbon electrode in KOH solutions with concentration ranging from 0.1M to 1M had been studied using cyclic voltammetry method. It is found out that vanadate ions experience similar redox reactions in both NaOH and KOH solutions, which involve a single cathodic reduction and two oxidation reactions in one cyclic sweep. Nearly same currents are obtained under the same reaction conditions in both solutions. However, vanadate ions appear more difficult to be reduced in KOH solutions than in NaOH solutions, and the reduction reaction exhibits higher irreversibility. The reduction potential is influenced by vanadate ions concentration, and is more negative in KOH solutions. The reversibility of reduction reaction is greatly dependent on alkalinity, and the reduction potential obviously decreases with the increase of alkalinity in KOH solutions. However, only a slight decrease was observed in NaOH solution, which may be due to the fact that OH^- exhibits higher activity in KOH solutions.

Abstract: Leaching of an extracted vanadium residue in sodium sub-molten salt medium was investigated. The significant effects of reaction temperature, particle size of residue, reaction time and NaOH-to-residue mass ratio on vanadium extraction were studied. By the orthogonal experiment study, it can be concluded that the impact order of factors is Tr> t>R according to the significance to the leaching process. Under conditions of reaction temperature 170°C, NaOH-to-residue 4:1, stirring speed 700 rpm, particle size -74 µm and reaction time around 180 min, leaching efficiency of vanadium obtained is higher than 90%. And, the leaching process of vanadium, with activation energy 27.69 kJ•mol-1, is controlled by the chemical reaction-controlled as the following rate equation. ln(1-x)=-kt

Abstract: A series of new green metallurgical processes have been proposed and developed to improve the recovery of vanadium and chromium in vanadium slag, and solve the environmental problems occurred in the traditional production process. The reactivity of three reaction media including sub-molten potassium hydroxide, sub-molten sodium hydroxide, and NaOH-NaNO₃ binary molten salt medium has been examined and compared. In comparison with the traditional sodium salt roasting technology, which operates at 850 °C, the operation temperature in the new media can drop to 200~450°C, significantly decreasing the energy consumption. Chemical conversion ratio of vanadium and chromium using the new reaction media could reach to above 95% and 80%, respectively, superior to the traditional technology. For in the latter technology the data is 80% for vanadium and only 10% for chromium. Thus, the application of such reaction media in the processing of vanadium slag has been proven to be feasible and attractive, and the processes developed based on such media are expected to replace the traditional roasting process in the near future.

Abstract: The crystallization behavior of potassium vanadate from highly concentrated potassium hydroxide aqueous solution was investigated. The effect of various parameters including KOH concentration, V₂O₅ concentration, final crystallization temperature, cooling rate, stirring speed and additive amount of seed were examined. The optimal experimental conditions for K₃VO₄ crystallization were obtained as follows: KOH concentration 800850 g/L, KOH-to-V₂O₅ mass ratio 8~9, stirring speed 200 r/min, crystallization temperature from 80°C to 40°C with natural cooling, and seed addition 2% wt. Under optimal conditions, the K₃VO₄ crystallization yield of 87% was obtained, and the purity of crystals was about 90%.