Leaching of vanadium from sulphuric acid manufacture spent catalysts

Recovery of vanadium contained in spent catalysts from the manufacture,of sulphuric acid has been studied in this work, resulting in an industrial multistage process for the treatment of them avoiding direct deposition or clumping. Characterization of supplied spent catalysts samples, confirmed vanadium levels showed in the literature. The study of variables influencing leaching process: type of leaching agent, teaching agent concentration, S/L ratio, stirring speed and temperature, allows to fix the most advantageous conditions using industrial application criterion and verifying that the process is difusion controlled. Thr work is completed by developing an industrial leaching cycle simulation with the aim of reproducing real performance of spent catalyst, proposing operating conditions, and verifying the non-toxic character of the final residue obtained.