10 Interesting Facts about Vanadium

These following facts about vanadium will be really helpful for you who observe and study science, especially since it’s really important. Vanadium is a chemical element with the symbol “V” and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery gray, ductile and malleable transition metal. The element is only found in chemically combined form in nature, but once isolated artificially, the formation of anoxide layer stabilizes the free metal somewhat against further oxidation. For further information, to get to know more about it, here are some other facts about vanadium you may consider interesting.

Facts about vanadium 1: Discovery

Andres Manuel del Rio discovered compounds of vanadium in 1801 by analyzing a new lead-bearing mineral he called “brown lead,” and presumed its qualities were due to the presence of a new element, which he named erythronium (Greek for “red”) since, upon heating, most of its salts turned from their initial color to red.

Facts about vanadium 2: Characteristic

Vanadium is a medium hard, ductile, steel-blue metal. Some sources describe vanadium as “soft”, perhaps because it is ductile, malleable and not brittle. It is harder than most metals and steels. It has good resistance to corrosion and is stable against alkalis, sulfuric and hydrochloric acids.

Facts about vanadium 3: Sources

Vanadium is found in about 65 different minerals, including these important sources: carnotite, roscoelite, vanadinite and patronite. It is also found in phosphate rock, certain iron ores, and some crude oils in the form of organic complexes. In space, it is present in a small percentage of meteorites.

Facts about vanadium 4: Uses

Vanadium is an important component in modern steel production. It is used in production of rust-resistant and high-speed tool steels. It is an important carbide stabilizer. About 80 percent of the vanadium now produced is used as ferrovanadium or as a steel additive. Vanadium foil is used as a bonding agent when cladding titanium to steel.

Facts about vanadium 5: Occurrence

Metallic vanadium is not found in nature, but is known to exist in about 65 different minerals. Economically significant examples include patronite, vanadinite, and carnotite.

Facts about vanadium 6: Production

Most vanadium is used as an alloy called ferrovanadium as an additive to improve steels. Ferrovanadium is produced directly by reducing a mixture of vanadium oxide, iron oxides and iron in an electric furnace. Vanadium-bearing magnetite iron ore is the main source for the production of vanadium.

Facts about vanadium 7: Alloys

Approximately 85% of vanadium produced is used as ferrovanadium or as a steel additive. The considerable increase of strength in steel containing small amounts of vanadium was discovered in the beginning of the 20th century. Vanadium forms stable nitrides and carbides, resulting in a significant increase in the strength of the steel.

Facts about vanadium 8: Other Uses

Vanadium is compatible with iron and titanium, therefore vanadium foil is used in cladding titanium to steel. The moderate thermal neutron-capture cross-section and the short half-life of the isotopes produced by neutron capture makes vanadium a suitable material for the inner structure of a fusion reactor.

Facts about vanadium 9: Fungi

Several species of macrofungi, namely Amanita Muscaria and related species, accumulate vanadium (up to 500 mg/kg in dry weight). Vanadium is present in the coordination complexamavadin, in fungal fruit-bodies.

Facts about vanadium 10: Safety

Vanadium traces in diesel fuels present a corrosion hazard; it is the main fuel component influencing high temperature corrosion. During combustion, it oxidizes and reacts with sodium and sulfur, yielding vanadate compounds with melting points down to 530 °C, which attack the passivation layer on steel, rendering it susceptible to corrosion.

Hopefully those who are doing some research about vanadium would find vanadium facts these really useful and interesting.