The critical applications of vanadium in metallurgical field and the growth in commercialization of vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB) have led to the increased demand of vanadium. It is thus important to ensure the sustainability of vanadium production. Vanadium bearing slags, the solid byproducts in iron- and steel-making plants, are the principal source of vanadium production, accounting for more than 69% of total vanadium in terms ofthe raw material types. Academic researches and engineering investigations have been addressed to develop such metallurgical processes for treating the vanadium bearing slags. This article presents a comprehensive review on the metallurgical treatments of vanadium bearing slags. The composition and phase/mineralogical characterization of vanadium bearing slags from various sources are given. Literature review shows that the vanadium bearing slags have been traditionally treated through the roasting-assisted leaching with the recent efforts of integrating the state-of-the arts technologies in extractive metallurgy and developing direct leaching methodologies. Some promising methods are worth discussing and quite encouraging, and expected to be the future focuses of this area. Discussion also highlights the separation of vanadium from silica, phosphorus and chromium as the major interfering elements/metal in the leach solutions of vanadium slags. Recommendation is made for taking up future works in order to develop a sustainable metallurgical process for vanadium bearing slag.

A review on the metallurgical recycling of vanadium from slags: towards a sustainable vanadium production

Efficient extraction and separation of vanadium and chromium in high chromium vanadium slag by sodium salt roasting-(NH4)2SO4 leaching

Calcification roasting–acid leaching of high-chromium vanadium slag (HCVS) was conducted to elucidate the roasting and leaching behaviors of vanadium and chromium. The effects of the purity of CaO, molar ratio between CaO and V2O5 (n(CaO)/n(V2O5)), roasting temperature, holding time, and the heating rate used in the oxidation–calcification processes were investigated. The roasting process and mechanism were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry (TG–DSC). The results show that most of vanadium reacted with CaO to generate calcium vanadates and transferred into the leaching liquid, whereas almost all of the chromium remained in the leaching residue in the form of (Fe0.6Cr0.4)2O3. Variation trends of the vanadium and chromium leaching ratios were always opposite because of the competitive reactions of oxidation and calcification between vanadium and chromium with CaO. Moreover, CaO was more likely to combine with vanadium, as further confirmed by thermodynamic analysis. When the HCVS with CaO added in an n(CaO)/n(V2O5) ratio of 0.5 was roasted in an air atmosphere at a heating rate of 10°C/min from room temperature to 950°C and maintained at this temperature for 60 min, the leaching ratios of vanadium and chromium reached 91.14% and 0.49%, respectively; thus, efficient extraction of vanadium from HCVS was achieved and the leaching residue could be used as a new raw material for the extraction of chromium. Furthermore, the oxidation and calcification reactions of the spinel phases occurred at 592 and 630°C for n(CaO)/n(V2O5) ratios of 0.5 and 5, respectively.

Roasting and leaching behaviors of vanadium and chromium in calcification roasting–acid leaching of high-chromium vanadium slag

A cleaner and efficient process for extraction of vanadium from high chromium vanadium slag: Leaching in (NH4)2SO4-H2SO4 synergistic system and NH4+ recycle

Efficient separation of chromium and vanadium by calcification roasting–sodium carbonate leaching from high chromium vanadium slag and V2O5 preparation

The extraction of vanadium and chromium from high chromium content vanadium slag by salt roasting and water leaching process has been investigated, which uses mixed sodium salts (Na2CO3 and NaOH) as additive agent in roasting process. The mineralogical morphology was prospected by TG-DSC, XRD, SEM and EDS. The oxidation of slag and transversion of V/Cr-containing phase and sodium salts have been discussed. It has been demonstrated that the presence of NaOH contributes to decompose spinel and olivine phases, which is beneficial to reduce the roasting temperature and elevate V, Cr leaching ratio. The roasting parameters have been studied as a function of roasting temperature, roasting time and ratio of alkali, in which the roasting temperature is the most effective factor on the leaching rate of vanadium and chromium. Under the optimum condition, the leaching rates of V and Cr reached 95.8% and 97.6%, respectively.

Effective Extraction of Vanadium and Chromium from High Chromium Content Vanadium Slag by Sodium Roasting and Water Leaching

Impedance cytometry has enabled label-free and fast antibiotic susceptibility testing of bacterial single cells. Here, a machine learning-based impedance system is provided to score the phenotypic response of bacterial single cells to antibiotic treatment, with a high throughput of more than one thousand cells per min. In contrast to other impedance systems, an online training method on reference particles is provided, as the parallel impedance cytometry can distinguish reference particles from target particles, and label reference and target particles as the training and test set, respectively, in real time. Experiments with polystyrene beads of two different sizes (3 and 4.5 µm) confirm the functionality and stability of the system. Additionally, antibiotic-treated Escherichia coli cells are measured every two hours during the six-hour drug treatment. All results successfully show the capability of real-time characterizing the change in dielectric properties of individual cells, recognizing single susceptible cells, as well as analyzing the proportion of susceptible cells within heterogeneous populations in real time. As the intelligent impedance system can perform all impedance-based characterization and recognition of particles in real time, it can free operators from the post-processing and data interpretation. 

Machine learning-based impedance system for real-time recognition of antibiotic-susceptible bacteria with parallel cytometry

The benefits of impedance cytometry include high-throughput and label-free detection, while long-term calibration is required to remove the effects of the detection circuits. This study presents a novel impedance cytometry system, called parallel impedance cytometry, to simplify the calibration and analysis of the impedance signals. Furthermore, target objects can be detected even when benchmarked against similar objects. Parallel dual microchannels allow the simultaneous detection of reference and target particles in two separate microchannels, without the premixing of reference and target suspensions. The impedance pulses of both can appear separately on the opposite sides of the same time series, which have been verified via simulation and experimental results. Raw impedance signals can easily distinguish target particles from reference ones. Polystyrene beads with different sizes ranging from nano- to microscale (e.g., 500, 750 nm, 1, 2, 3, and 4.5 μm) confirm the nanosensitivity of the system. In addition, the detection of antibiotic-treated Escherichia coli cells demonstrates that our system can be used for the quantitative assessment of the dielectric properties of individual cells, as well as for the proportion of susceptible cells. Through benchmarking against untreated E. coli cells in the other channel, our method enables the discrimination of susceptible cells from others and the comparison of susceptible and insusceptible cells in the target suspension. Those findings indicate that the parallel impedance cytometry can greatly facilitate the measurement and calibration of the impedances of various particles or cells and provide a means to compare their dielectric properties.

Parallel Impedance Cytometry for Real-Time Screening of Bacterial Single Cells from Nano- to Microscale.

Abstract The electrical penetration of the cell membrane is vital for determining the cell interior via impedance cytometry. Herein, we propose a method for determining the conductivity of the cell membrane through the tilting levels of impedance pulses. When electrical penetration occurs, a high-frequency current freely passes through the cell membrane; thus, the intracellular distribution can directly act on the high-frequency impedance pulses. Numerical simulation shows that an uneven intracellular component distribution can affect the tilting levels of impedance pulses, and the tilting levels start increasing when the cell membrane is electrically penetrated. Experimental evidence shows that higher detection frequencies (&gt;7 MHz) lead to a wider distribution of the tilting levels of impedance pulses when measuring cell populations with four-frequency impedance cytometry. This finding allows us to determine that a detection frequency of 7 MHz is able to pass through the membrane of Euglena gracilis ( E. gracilis ) cells. Additionally, we provide a possible application of four-frequency impedance cytometry in the biomass monitoring of single E. gracilis cells. High-frequency impedance (≥7 MHz) can be applied to monitor these biomass changes, and low-frequency impedance (&lt;7 MHz) can be applied to track the corresponding biovolume changes. Overall, this work demonstrates an easy determination method for the electrical penetration of the cell membrane, and the proposed platform is applicable for the multiparameter assessment of the cell state during cultivation. 

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Assessment of the electrical penetration of cell membranes using four-frequency impedance cytometry

The micro-cantilever-based sensor platform has become a promising technique in the sensing area for physical, chemical and biological detection due to its portability, small size, label-free characteristics and good compatibility with "lab-on-a-chip" devices. However, traditional micro-cantilever methods are limited by their complicated fabrication, manipulation and detection, and low sensitivity. In this research, we proposed a 10 μm thick ultrathin, highly sensitive, and flexible glass cantilever integrated with a strain gauge sensor and presented its application for the measurement of single-cell mechanical properties. Compared to conventional methods, the proposed ultrathin glass sheet (UTGS)-based cantilever is easier to fabricate, has better physical and chemical properties, and shows a high linear relationship between resistance change and applied small force or displacement. The sensitivity of the cantilever is 15 μN μm-1 and the minimum detectable displacement at the current development stage is 500 nm, which is sufficient for cell stiffness measurement. The cantilever also possesses excellent optical transparency that supports real-time observation during measurement. We first calibrated the cantilever by measuring the Young's modulus of PDMS with known specific stiffness, and then we demonstrated the measurement of Xenopus oocytes and fertilized eggs in different statuses. By further optimizing the UTGS-based cantilever, we can extend its applicability to various measurements of different cells.

Yang Jun Yang

Papers

Effective Extraction of Vanadium and Chromium from High Chromium Content Vanadium Slag by Sodium Roasting and Water Leaching

Machine learning-based impedance system for real-time recognition of antibiotic-susceptible bacteria with parallel cytometry

Parallel Impedance Cytometry for Real-Time Screening of Bacterial Single Cells from Nano- to Microscale.

Assessment of the electrical penetration of cell membranes using four-frequency impedance cytometry

10 μm thick ultrathin glass sheet to realize a highly sensitive cantilever for precise cell stiffness measurement.