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Volume 15
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Article

Development of an Extraction Process for Niobium Pentoxide from Columbite Using Sodium Carbonate and Boric Acid

by
Ramon Silveira
1,
Lucio Rosso Neto
1,
Felipe Fardin Grillo
2,
José Roberto de Oliveira
2,
Matheus Vinicius Gregory Zimmermann
1,
Mateus Milanez
1,
Tiago Elias Allievi Frizon
3,
Jorge Luis Coleti
4,
Agenor De Noni, Jr.
5 and
Eduardo Junca
1,*
1
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Engenharia de Materiais, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, Criciúma 88806-000, SC, Brazil
2
Departamento de Engenharia Metalúrgica e de Materiais, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Espírito Santo, Vitória 29040-780, ES, Brazil
3
Departamento de Energia e Sustentabilidade, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Araranguá 88906-072, SC, Brazil
4
Departamento de Metalurgia e Química, Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 35180-008, MG, Brazil
5
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Química, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis 88040-900, SC, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Minerals 2025, 15(12), 1254; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121254 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 25 September 2025 / Revised: 17 November 2025 / Accepted: 24 November 2025 / Published: 26 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Extraction Processes for Critical Metals from Non-Metallurgical Resources)
Versions Notes

Abstract

The aim of this study was to initiate the development of a route for the extraction of niobium oxide from columbite ore using sodium carbonate and boric acid. Initially, the columbite ore was characterized. Eight formulations were prepared to investigate the proportion of sodium carbonate to boric acid. The fusions were carried out at 900 °C for 60 min. Afterwards, magnetic separation was performed to remove the iron present in the formulations. From the non-magnetic fraction, water leaching was conducted to investigate the effects of temperature, time, and solid-to-liquid ratio. Finally, the product obtained from water leaching was calcined to obtain niobium oxide. The results indicated that the addition of boric acid contributed to reducing both viscosity and fusion temperature, favoring the release of niobium. The water leaching step showed an inverse dependence on the solid-to-liquid ratio, meaning that decreasing the solid content and increasing the water content favored the solubilization of niobium-containing phases. Temperature and time did not have a statistically significant effect on the leaching process. At the end of the route, niobium oxide was obtained as the final product, confirmed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy.
Keywords: niobium extraction; niobium pentoxide; columbite niobium extraction; niobium pentoxide; columbite

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MDPI and ACS Style

Silveira, R.; Rosso Neto, L.; Grillo, F.F.; de Oliveira, J.R.; Zimmermann, M.V.G.; Milanez, M.; Frizon, T.E.A.; Coleti, J.L.; De Noni, A., Jr.; Junca, E. Development of an Extraction Process for Niobium Pentoxide from Columbite Using Sodium Carbonate and Boric Acid. Minerals 2025, 15, 1254. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121254

AMA Style

Silveira R, Rosso Neto L, Grillo FF, de Oliveira JR, Zimmermann MVG, Milanez M, Frizon TEA, Coleti JL, De Noni A Jr., Junca E. Development of an Extraction Process for Niobium Pentoxide from Columbite Using Sodium Carbonate and Boric Acid. Minerals. 2025; 15(12):1254. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121254

Chicago/Turabian Style

Silveira, Ramon, Lucio Rosso Neto, Felipe Fardin Grillo, José Roberto de Oliveira, Matheus Vinicius Gregory Zimmermann, Mateus Milanez, Tiago Elias Allievi Frizon, Jorge Luis Coleti, Agenor De Noni, Jr., and Eduardo Junca. 2025. "Development of an Extraction Process for Niobium Pentoxide from Columbite Using Sodium Carbonate and Boric Acid" Minerals 15, no. 12: 1254. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121254

APA Style

Silveira, R., Rosso Neto, L., Grillo, F. F., de Oliveira, J. R., Zimmermann, M. V. G., Milanez, M., Frizon, T. E. A., Coleti, J. L., De Noni, A., Jr., & Junca, E. (2025). Development of an Extraction Process for Niobium Pentoxide from Columbite Using Sodium Carbonate and Boric Acid. Minerals, 15(12), 1254. https://doi.org/10.3390/min15121254

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