Abstract: Vanadium and molybdenum are recovered from a spent desulfurization catalyst containing the same by a process involving intimately admixing with comminuted catalyst an amount of a solid alkali metal carbonate, such as calcined sodium carbonate, sufficient to convert the vanadium and molybdenum present into water-soluble compounds, heating the mixture in the solid state in the presence of air at a temperature between about 650.degree. C and about 850.degree. C for a period of about 1 to 2 hours, and extracting the vanadium and molybdenum compounds with water.

Abstract: A process of separately recovering vanadium and molybdenum from an aqueous solution containing a vanadium compound is disclosed. The process comprises adjusting the pH of such a solution to a pH between 1.5 and 7, contacting the solution with a weakly basic anion exchanger in the salt form, eluting said anion exchanger with an ammonium hydroxide solution having a strength between about 1 and 4N, crystallizing the resulting ammonium vanadate, and separating the same from the vanadium and molybdenum solution obtained in said elution.