US858325A - Process of producing vanadium and its alloys. - Google Patents

Description

FREDERICK M. BECKET, OF NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK, ASSIGN OR TO ELECTRO METALLURGICAL COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 25, 1907.

Original application filed June 19, l 906, Serial No. 3 22,449. Divided and this application filed November 26. 1906- Serial No.

To all within it Woo/y concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK M. BEOKET,

a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Niagara Falls, in the county of Ni- 5 agara and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Producing Vanadium and Its Alloys, of which the following is a specificatlon.

This invention relates to the production of vanadium and alloys of vanadium with iron, nickel, etc.

According to the invention, a vanadium compound is reduced by the simultaneous I 5 action of silicon and carbon, preferably used 1n proportions and under conditions to insure a commercial purity of the product.

The invention is more particularly applicable to the reduction of oxid ores of Vanadium, or to compounds, mixtures or concentrates containing vanadium oxid. The conditions necessary for substantially complete reduction of the oxid of vanadium and the production of a metal or alloy of low sili- 2 5 con and carbon content are obtainable so far as known only in the electric furnace. Preferably a basic flux such as lime is used to combine with any silica which may be present in the ore or concentrate and with that 'derived from the oxidation of silicon.

I have found that silicon and carbon, preferably combined as silicid of carbon, may be advantageously employed in the electric furnace as a reducing agent for the production of vanadium, and its alloys such as ferrovanadium and nickel-vanadium. When a suitable mixture containing silicid of carbon, vanadium oxid and a basic flux is smelted in an electric furnace the advantages of a 4o continuous and rapid process may be secured,

and by suitably proportioning the ingredients of the charge and operating under suitable conditions a product of very low silicon and carbon content may be obtained.

Ferrovanadium containing moderate percentages of carbon may be prepared in the electric furnace by smelting a charge wherein carbon is used in the minimum proportion required to effect the reduction, or in less than the theoretical proportion required; but the yields are found to be low and moreover the carbon electrodes are rapidly consumed. I have discovered however that when the re ducing action of carbon is supplemented by that of silicon excellent yields may be obtained and the reduction proceeds without undue consumption of the-electrodes.

I prefer to supply the silicon and carbon in chemical combination as silicid of carbon, SiO. By the use of this compound the production of metal or alloys low in silicon and carbon is more easily and economically attained, probably for the reason that the portions of metal first reduced do not come into contact either with free silicon or free carbon, and therefore do not absorb the same to any injurious extent.

In the production of low carbon and low silicon vanadium I may proceed as follows: An oxid ore of vanadium, or an ore which has been treated to convert the vanadium to the oxidized state, or a concentrate from such ores is mixed with silicid of carbon, the proportion of silicid of carbon being such as to secure the substantially complete oxidation of both silicon and carbon by the oxygen of the vanadium oxid and such other oxids re ducible under the conditions of operation as may be present. It is advantageous to use the silicid of carbon as well as the ore in a fairly fine state of subdivision, the degree of subdivision depending somewhat on the scale of the operation. The use of a basic flux such as lime is usually advantageous as tending to economy of operation; it is not however essential. In case of silicious ores lime is usually employed in pro er roportion to form a moderately fusib e s ag with the silica of the charge and that derived from the oxidation of the silicon of the silicid of carbon. In case a product very low in silicon and carbon is required the ore may be employed in excess of the amount required to oxidize the reducing agent; while in case a low silicon and carbon content is not essen tial the silicid of carbon may be used in excess.

In the production of ferrovanadium, nickel-vanadium or other alloy of vanadium, I prefer to incor orate metallic iron, nickel or other metal wit the charge prepared for the reduction of vanadium, or to introduce the required proportion of these metals at any time durlng the" operation; but the metals,

' iron and'nickel for example, may be reduced frond their com ounds simultaneously with the reduction .0 vanadium without interfering with the process.

do not limit myselfto any particular type of. electric furnace, but I have found it advantageous to carry on the reduction continuously' in an electric furnace in which the current passes through a-molten bath containing a mixture of ore, silicid of carbon and flux, and from which part or all of the metal or I slag may be withdrawn as desired, fresh portions of the mixture being added from time to time.

To obtain a high yield of vanadium or its 7 alloys and to insure a lowsilicon and carbon time.

This application is a division of my prior application Serial No. 322,449, filed June 19, 1906, Process of reducing metallic oxids.

1 claim:

1. The process of producing vanadium which consists in reacting on a vanadium compound reducible by siliconand carbon with silicon and carbon.

2. The process of producing vanadium which consists in reacting on a vanadium compound reducible by silicon and carbon with silicid'of carbon. 3

3. The process of producing vanadium which consists in reacting on a vanadium compound containi oxygen with silicid of carbon, the silicid 0 carbon being present in substantially the proportion required to combine with the oxygen of the reducible I oxids, whereby a substantially complete oxidation of the silicon and carbon is secured and a dproduct low in silicon and carbon is obv taine 4 The process of producing vanadium whlch consists in passing an electric current through a molten bath containing vanadium oxid, silicon and carbon.

5. The process of producing vanadium which consists in assing an electric current through a molten bath containing vanadium oxid and silicid of carbon.

6. The, process of producing vanadium which consists in passing an electric current through a molten bath containing vanadium oxid, silicid of carbon and a basic flux.

7. The process of producing vanadium which consists in assing an electric current through a moltenbath containing vanadium oxid and silicid of carbon, the silicid of carbon being present in substantially the proportion required to combine with the oxygen of the reducible oxids, whereby a substantially complete oxidation of the silicon and carbon is secured and a product low in silicon and carbon is obtained.

8. The continuous process or producing vanadium which consists in passing an electric current through a molten bath containing vanadium oxid, silicid of carbon, and a basic flux, adding fresh portions of the charge and withdrawing the product as desired.

9. The process of producing vanadium alloys which consists in reacting on vanadium compound with carbon and silicon in presence of an alloying metal.

10. The process of producing vanadium al- .loys which consists in reacting on a vanadium compound with silicid of carbon in presence of an alloying metal.

1 1. The process of producing ferrovanadium which consists in reacting on vanadium oxid with silicid of carbon in presence of iron.

12. The process of producing ferrovanadium which consists in passing an electric current throu h a molten bath containing vanadium oxi silicid of carbon and iron.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK M. BECKET.

Witnesses:

C. C. MOSHER, J. N. DEINHARDT.