Vanadium in industrial wastewater: a study on methods implicated for their removal and recovery

Abstract

Vanadium is a metallic element, and its limited concentration in the human body is nontoxic because it is consumed and excreted regularly. Vanadium has several industrial, medical, and agricultural advances also. Excess Vanadium intake in any way is harmful/toxic for human beings. The use of Vanadium in the steel industry is the major cause of excess Vanadium in industrial wastewater. In this chapter, we have reviewed the information about recovering Vanadium from industrial wastewater through various methods. In the adsorption method, iron sorbents like ferric oxyhydroxide, 2-methyl-8 quinolinol ligand embedded onto mesoporous composite material, unburnt coal and shale, cationized sawdust, and calcium-based semidry flue gas desulfurization ash are used. Removal of Vanadium from microorganisms uses different anaerobic and chemoheterotrophic bacteria, autohydrogenotrophic bacteria, and gram-positive Lactococcus raffinolactis bacteria. The ion exchange method is a reversible process where different kinds of ion exchangers are used. In the surface-modified lignocellulosic method, solid agricultural waste is used.