A new process has been developed for the preparation of vanadium metal from its oxide (V_2O_5). The process, essentially a nitride route, consists of three broad steps, viz. (ⅰ) conversion of the oxide (V_2O_5) to nitride (VN) (ⅱ) thermal decomposition of VN to impure vanadium and (ⅲ) electrorefining of impure vanadium to a state of high purity. The paper also discusses the relative merits of the nitride intermediate, over other anode feed materials prepared by metallothermic/carbothermic reduction processes, during electrorefming stage. On the basis of the present studies, a new flow-sheet has been developed for the preparation of high purity vanadium metal.
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