In order to control
nitrogen oxides emissions, V2O5–WO3/TiO2 catalysts are widely
applied in coal-fired power plants. Consequently, a large number of
V2O5–WO3/TiO2 catalysts
are spent annually because of their short operating life. Although
these spent catalysts contain amounts of heavy metals, they have also
been regarded as a potential secondary resource for the recovery of
valuable elements titanium, tungsten, and vanadium. Therefore, this
study developed an efficient method for selective leaching of heavy
metal vanadium with an “H2SO4 + Na2SO3” acid reduction system. The use of this
leaching solution achieved nearly 100% efficiency in vanadium removal,
and the effects of the leaching parameters on the vanadium leaching
efficiencies were investigated. Subsequently, the titanium-enriched
residue obtained from the leaching process was used to produce high-performance
WO3–TiO2 photocatalysts with dominant
{001} facets via a hydrothermal treatment. The influence of the amount
of hydrogen fluoride on the morphology and percentage exposure of
the {001} facets of the photocatalysts was studied systematically.
The method proposed in this study constitutes a novel and sustainable
approach for the disposal of spent V2O5–WO3/TiO2 catalysts.