ABSTRACT
Vanadium (V) was first discovered in 1801, and it is a potentially toxic element that occurs naturally in mineral forms. Vanadium became indispensable to modern industry for the past two centuries and has been widely used in several hi-tech industries. As such, it is involved as a principle component in several sophisticated industries including electronics, space navigation, dyeing and nuclear industries as well as in multiple high-temperatures industrial processes (e.g. steel and iron refining). Vanadium ranks among the top five transitional elements with average concentrations of 150 mg kg−1 in soil. Vanadium exists in different oxidation states i.e., −1, 0, +2, +3, +4 and +5; however, only the +3, +4 and +5 oxidation states are important in the natural environment. Understanding the chemical behavior of V in soils is essential to quantify its fate in the environment and uptake by plants. The behavior of V in soils varies based on its speciation under different soil conditions and components. The behavior of V in soil is governed by vanadate (V) sorption onto Fe/Al(hydr)oxides and vanadyl(IV) binding with natural organic matter. The differential association preferences of vanadium species control the fractionation of vanadium in soil solid phases, which further affect the biogeochemical fate of vanadium in the ecosystem. In this chapter, we presented and discussed 1) the chemical properties of vanadium and its industrial use, and impacts on the environment and human health, 2) the sources of vanadium into the environment, and the distribution of total and available content of V in different soils worldwide, 3) the factors that govern the content and availability in soils including soil redox potential (Eh), soil pH, Fe-Mn oxides and organic carbon content.
