Ferrovanadium 60%, 70% and 80%: Grade Differences and Selection

Ferrovanadium is traded in three nominal grades, 60%, 70% and 80% vanadium, and choosing between them is a cost-per-unit-of-vanadium calculation that is complicated by three side effects: carbon pick-up, aluminium pick-up and dissolution behaviour. The grade number is only an identifier for the nominal vanadium level; the elements that are left over, mainly iron plus residual aluminium, carbon and silicon, decide whether a grade is usable in a given heat.

How the 60, 70 and 80 Grades Differ

Higher grades are made by the same aluminothermic route but with tighter control of the charge and the cooling practice, which drives out more iron and residual carbon. The result is a denser alloy that delivers more vanadium per tonne shipped and per minute of ladle time.

Grade	Vanadium (typical)	Carbon	Silicon	Aluminium	Usual size
FeV60	58-65%	0.3-0.4%	2.0% max	1.5-2.5%	10-50 mm
FeV70	68-75%	0.2-0.3%	1.5% max	1.5-2.0%	10-50 mm
FeV80	78-82%	0.1-0.2%	1.5% max	1.5% max	10-50 mm, 3-10 mm

Figures are typical commercial ranges and should always be replaced by the limits on the supplier certificate. The Chinese national specification for the alloy family, GB/T 4139, defines ferrovanadium grade families of this type, and buyers should confirm the exact chemistry window rather than rely on the grade name alone.

Cost per Unit of Vanadium, Not Price per Tonne

A tonne of FeV60 and a tonne of FeV80 are not comparable purchases. Delivering 1,000 kg of contained vanadium takes about 1,670 kg of a 60% grade but only about 1,250 kg of an 80% grade, so the higher grade ships roughly 420 kg less iron for the same alloying job. That difference reduces freight, bag handling and the weight of material that has to be dissolved in the ladle.

The counterweight is price: a higher grade normally costs more per kilogram of vanadium, and it is only worth paying when the low-carbon requirement, the vessel capacity or the melt temperature budget actually benefits. A mill with spare ladle capacity and no carbon restriction can often run a lower grade at a lower alloying cost.

Carbon and Aluminium Limits in Low-Carbon Steels

Carbon is the decisive constraint in low-carbon and ultralow-carbon heats, where a 0.1% carbon increase from the alloy would push the heat out of specification. Aluminium matters just as much in steels with an aluminium specification or a cleanliness requirement, where residual aluminium from the master alloy affects inclusion composition and castability. In these heats the higher grades are not a premium, they are the only option that keeps the analysis inside the window. In plain carbon steels with a wider carbon range, the cheaper grades perform exactly the same alloying function.

Dissolution and Addition Practice

All three grades are added to the ladle during tapping or to the furnace before tap. Because the higher grades are denser, they sink through the slag more readily and dissolve faster, which reduces the risk of a frozen lump sitting on the ladle bottom and reporting as a low recovery. Where the vanadium specification is narrow, cored wire filled with 3-10 mm ferrovanadium gives the most repeatable result, because the powder is delivered below the slag line at a measured rate.

Recovery typically falls in the 90-95% range in a properly deoxidized ladle, and it drops when the slag is oxidising or the tapping temperature is low. A first trial heat on production metal is the cheapest way to fix the recovery figure for a new grade or a new supplier.

Which Grade Fits Which Product

FeV60 is common for reinforcing bar and general carbon structural steel, where the carbon pick-up is absorbed by the parent specification. FeV70 is widely used for high-strength low-alloy plate and strip, including pipeline and structural grades. FeV80 suits low-carbon and ultralow-carbon steels, critical forgings, and applications where aluminium and carbon residuals are tightly capped. Selecting a grade is therefore a matter of matching the residual limits of the steel, not of buying the highest number available.

Buying Checkpoints

Every lot certificate should state vanadium, carbon, silicon, aluminium, sulphur and phosphorus, plus the size band and the packing. For routine verification of vanadium in steel, spark atomic emission spectrometry as described in ASTM E415 is the workhorse method, with the terminology and reporting practices of ASTM A751 applied to the sampling and the certificate. A supplier that cannot state aluminium and sulphur on the certificate is not supplying a fully characterised product.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What do the numbers 60, 70 and 80 mean in ferrovanadium?
A: They are the nominal vanadium content of the grade in percent by mass, so FeV80 contains roughly 80% vanadium with iron and small residuals making up the balance.

Q: Is FeV80 always the better purchase?
A: Not necessarily. It delivers more vanadium per tonne and adds less carbon and iron, but it costs more per unit of vanadium, so the lower grades are more economical where the steel specification allows them.

Q: How much ferrovanadium is needed per tonne of steel?
A: The addition is calculated from the target vanadium increment, the grade assay and the expected recovery of 90-95%, so the required mass varies with the strength specification rather than being a fixed figure.

Q: Why does recovery vary between heats?
A: Vanadium is partly consumed by oxygen and sulphur in the bath. An oxidising slag, incomplete deoxidation or a low tapping temperature all reduce the share of vanadium that stays in solution.

Q: Can FeV80 be added in cored wire?
A: Yes. The 3-10 mm cut is used to fill cored wire, which gives tighter control of the addition and better recovery than a bulk lump addition when the specification window is narrow.

Q: How is the vanadium content of a delivered lot checked?
A: By sampling the lot and analysing it chemically, typically with spark atomic emission spectrometry following the approach of ASTM E415, and repeating the check on a second sample when a result is close to a limit.