ELECTROCHEMICAL PRODUCTION OF TUNGSTEN POWDERS FROM TUNGSTEN-CONTAINING ALLOY TREATMENT WASTE

Abstract

Hardmetals intended to perform in harsh operating conditions are developed with the use of metallic powders, in particular, tungsten powders. The growing consumption of tungsten in industry necessitates the improvement of techniques employed to produce it from industrial waste. The objective of this research effort was to reduce metallic tungsten (as a powder) from chloride and chloride–fluoride melts and determine the factors influencing its particle size. The starting material was tungsten oxide (WO₃) produced electrochemically from secondary raw products (tungsten carbide pseudoalloy VK-6). The KCl–NaCl–CsBr and NaCl–KCl–CsBr–Na₃WO₃F₃ eutectic mixtures were used as the melt. In the electrolysis of the melt with a high WO₂F₄^2-– content, tungsten precipitates as a superfine powder. The precipitate morphology shows that the tungsten powder grain size depends on electrolysis conditions. A relatively inexpensive and effective method of producing tungsten powders was developed upon the research.