Vanadium

A: Vanadium is a transition metal with the symbol V and atomic number 23. It's a hard, silver-gray, malleable element that's resistant to corrosion, acids, alkalis, and salt water.

Vanadium is rarely found in nature, but it's the fifth most abundant transition metal in the Earth's crust.

It's often found in ores with titanium and iron, and in coal and oil deposits.

A: Vanadium can affect human health in the following ways:

• Inhalation: Breathing air with vanadium pentoxide can cause coughing that lasts for days.
• Contact: Can irritate the skin and eyes.
• High exposure: Can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and greenish discoloration of the tongue.

A: Some animal and human studies suggest that vanadium may:

• Lower blood sugar levels
• Improve sensitivity to insulin in people with type 2 diabetes
• Lower total and LDL ("bad") cholesterol

A:

• Vanadium can be used to make steel alloys, for use in space vehicles, nuclear reactors and aircraft carriers, etc.
• Vanadium steel alloys' strength means that they are perfectly suited to the creation of tools, axles, piston rods and as girders in construction.
• In Vanadium Flow Batteries (VFBs), vanadium is used to create a reliable, safe and stable solution for the storage of renewable energy.
• Vanadium can be utilised in ceramics as a pigment.
• Vanadium pentoxide can be used as a catalyst in the manufacture of dyes and printing fabrics.
• Superconducting magnets can be made from vanadium gallium tape.
• Vanadium oxide is used in the manufacture of sulphuric acid.
• In the medical sphere, vanadium is used to treat a number of ailments, including diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol. It has also been used in the cathodes of batteries for implantable cardioverter defibrillators.
• Research is underway to utilise vanadium in the cathodes of batteries for electric vehicles.
• Scientists have used the unique properties of vanadium to produce smart windows which can lock heat out during the summer and retain heat inside when the weather cools down.

A:

• Widely used in metallurgy, chemical and other industries, mainly used for smelting vanadium iron.
• As an alloy additive, accounting for more than 80% of the total consumption of vanadium pentoxide
• Followed by catalysts, i.e. catalysts, accounting for about 10% of the total.
• Inorganic chemicals, chemical reagents, enamels and magnetic materials accounting for about 10% of the total.

A: Vanadium pentoxide is more toxic than the elemental form. Chronic exposure to vanadium pentoxide dust and fumes can cause:

• Severe irritation of the eyes, skin, and upper respiratory tract
• Persistent inflammations of the trachea and bronchi
• Pulmonary edema
• Systemic poisoning

A: The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified vanadium pentoxide as possibly carcinogenic to humans based on evidence of lung cancer in exposed mice.

A: Vanadium can be found in the environment in algae, plants, invertebrates, fishes and many other species. In mussels and crabs vanadium strongly bioaccumulates, which can lead to concentrations of about 105 to 106 times greater than the concentrations that are found in seawater.

Vanadium causes the inhibition of certain enzymes with animals, which has several neurological effects. Next to the neurological effects vanadium can cause breathing disorders, paralyses and negative effects on the liver and kidneys.

Laboratory tests with test animals have shown, that vanadium can cause harm to the reproductive system of male animals, and that it accumulates in the female placenta.

Vanadium can cause DNA alteration in some cases, but it cannot cause cancer with animals.

A: Vanadium is found in all human body tissues. Byrne and Kosta in 1978 had reported concentrations of vanadium in the kidney, liver, and muscles.

A:

• Vanadium is present in some supplements. Consult with your doctor before taking supplements containing vanadium to determine if they are appropriate for you. Supplements should be kept out of reach of children.
• Vanadium is a component of tobacco smoke. Avoid smoking in enclosed spaces like inside the home or car in order to limit exposure to children and other family members.

A:

• Eating foods containing vanadium, higher levels are found in seafood. Vanadium is found in some nutritional supplements.
• Breathing air near an industry that burns fuel oil or coal; these industries release vanadium oxide into the air.
• Working in industries that process vanadium or make products containing vanadium.
• Breathing contaminated air or drinking contaminated water near waste sites or landfills containing vanadium.
• Breathing cigarette smoke.
• Vanadium is not readily absorbed by the body from the stomach, gut, or contact with the skin.

A: The health effects in children are expected to be similar to the effects seen in adults.

Studies in animals exposed during pregnancy have shown that vanadium can cause decreases in growth and increases in the occurrence of birth defects. These effects are usually observed at levels which cause effects in the mother. Effects have also been observed at vanadium doses which did not cause effects in the mother.

A: The five key uses of vanadium include:

• The production of metal alloys.
• Inside nuclear reactors.
• Vanadium oxide is used as a catalyst in sulfuric acid production.
• Vanadium oxides are sometimes used as dyes.
• Vanadium is a trace mineral in human diets, and is used for bone growth.

A: Vanadium is categorized as an element with an abundance of 0.019 percent, by weight, on the earth's crust, making it the 20th most abundant element found on earth. In nature, it is primarily found in conjunction with other elements in minerals, as well as in phosphate rocks, coal, and petroleum. It is primarily extracted by the countries China, Russia, and South Africa.

A: Physical Properties of Vanadium:

• Vanadium has a melting point of 1910 degrees Celsius and a boiling point of 3407 degrees Celsius. It exists as a solid at room temperature.
• Vanadium has a density of 6.1 grams per cubic centimeter. It is often described as a heavy metal, which are those metal elements with densities of greater than 5 grams per cubic centimeter.
• Pure Vanadium is gray-white and lustrous in appearance.
• Vanadium is ductile (can be drawn out into thin wires) and malleable (can be beaten or pressed into shape).
• As previously mentioned, Vanadium was given its name due to its colorful compounds. Vanadium forms different colored oxides based on the different oxidation states in them. These include Vanadium(II) Oxide (Purple), Vanadium (III) Oxide (Green), Vanadium (IV) Oxide (Blue), and Vanadium (V) Oxide (Yellow.)

A: The key chemical properties of Vanadium are as follows:

• Vanadium reacts with oxygen in the air when heated to primarily form Vanadium(V) Oxide, also called vanadium pentoxide. However, samples of vanadium oxide also include molecules of vanadium that reacted with oxygen in its 3+ oxidation state to form vanadium(III) oxide, also called vanadium sesquioxide; and it is 4+ oxidation state to form vanadium (IV) oxide, also called vanadium dioxide. A thin layer of vanadium oxide forms on the surface of vanadium samples exposed to air, which prevents its further corrosion in air or water.
• The two naturally occurring vanadium isotopes are: Vanadium-50 (0.25% abundance) and Vanadium-51 (99.75% abundance.)
• Vanadium reacts with fluorine in the presence of heat to form vanadium(V) fluoride, which is also called vanadium pentafluoride.
• Although vanadium is considered toxic in high doses, on average humans take 0.01mg of vanadium in their daily diets, which is used primarily for bone growth