The main use of vanadium is in alloys, especially with steel. 85% of all the vanadium produced goes into steel, 10% goes into alloys of titanium and 5% into all other uses. A small amount of vanadium adds strength, toughness, and heat resistance.

Vanadium can enter the body via the lungs or, more commonly, the stomach. Most of the dietary vanadium is excreted. The amount of vanadium resorbed in the gastrointestinal tract is a function of its oxidation state (V(V) or V(IV)) and the coordination environment.

Vanadium alloys are used in nuclear reactors because of vanadium’s low neutron-absorbing properties. Vanadium(V) oxide is used as a pigment for ceramics and glass, as a catalyst and in producing superconducting magnets. Vanadium is essential to some species, including humans, although we need very little.

The best food sources of vanadium are mushrooms, shellfish, black pepper, parsley, dill weed, beer, wine, grain and grain products, and artificially sweetened drinks. Vanadium exists in several forms, including vandal sulfate and vanadate. Vanadyl sulfate is most commonly found in nutritional supplements.

Vanadium has begun to play a pivotal role in the advancement of battery technology, namely in automotive (mobile) applications for electric and hybrid vehicles and in stationary energy storage applications for both renewable and conventional energy.

Vanadium can refine the grain structure of steel, which increases the strength, toughness, and wear resistance. When it is melted to form austenite at high temperature, the hardenability of the steel can be increased.

Vanadium is the 20th most abundant element in the earth’s crust; metallic vanadium is rare in nature (known as native vanadium), but vanadium compounds occur naturally in about 65 different minerals.

Vanadium is never found unbound in nature. Vanadium occurs in about 65 different minerals among which are patronite, vanadinite, carnotite and bauxite. Vanadium occurs in carbon containing deposits such as crude oil, coal, oil shale and tar sands.

* Breathing Vanadium can irritate the nose, throat and lungs causing coughing, wheezing and/or shortness of breath. * High exposure to Vanadium can cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and greenish discoloration of the tongue. * Exposure to Vanadium can cause headache, tremors and dizziness.

The vanadium reaction has the more negative E° value and so will move to the left; the nitric acid reaction moves to the right. The nitric acid again has the more positive E° value and so moves to the right. The more negative (less positive) vanadium reaction moves to the left.

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