Direct Electrochemical Preparation of Cobalt, Tungsten, and Tungsten Carbide from Cemented Carbide Scrap

A novel process of preparing cobalt, tungsten, and tungsten carbide powders from cemented carbide scrap by molten salt electrolysis has been investigated in this paper. In this experiment, WC-6Co and NaCl–KCl salt were used as sacrificial anode and electrolyte, respectively. The dissolution potentia...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Metallurgical and materials transactions. B, Process metallurgy and materials processing science Vol. 48; no. 1; pp. 692 - 700
Main Authors: Xiao, Xiangjun, Xi, Xiaoli, Nie, Zuoren, Zhang, Liwen, Ma, Liwen
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Springer US 01.02.2017
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Carbides
Cermets
Characterization and Evaluation of Materials
Chemistry and Materials Science
Cobalt
Cobalt powders
Electrolysis
Extraction processes
Heavy metals
Materials Science
Metal scrap
Metallic Materials
Nanotechnology
Scrap
Structural Materials
Surfaces and Interfaces
Thin Films
Tungsten
Tungsten carbide
Tungsten carbides
Voltammetry
Tungsten Powder
Tungsten Carbide
Cobalt
Tungsten
Electrolysis Time
ISSN:1073-5615, 1543-1916
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A novel process of preparing cobalt, tungsten, and tungsten carbide powders from cemented carbide scrap by molten salt electrolysis has been investigated in this paper. In this experiment, WC-6Co and NaCl–KCl salt were used as sacrificial anode and electrolyte, respectively. The dissolution potential of cobalt and WC was determined by linear sweep voltammetry to be 0 and 0.6 V ( vs Ag/AgCl), respectively. Furthermore, the electrochemical behavior of cobalt and tungsten ions was investigated by a variety of electrochemical techniques. Results of cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square-wave voltammetry show that the cobalt and tungsten ions existed as Co 2+ and W 2+ on melts, respectively. The effect of applied voltage, electrolysis current, and electrolysis times on the composition of the product was studied. Results showed that pure cobalt powder can be obtained when the electrolysis potential is lower than 0.6 V or during low current and short times. Double-cathode and two-stage electrolysis was utilized for the preparation of cobalt, tungsten carbide, and tungsten powders. Additionally, X-ray diffraction results confirm that the product collected at cathodes 1 and 2 is pure Co and WC, respectively. Pure tungsten powder was obtained after electrolysis of the second part. Scanning electron microscope results show that the diameters of tungsten, tungsten carbide, and cobalt powder are smaller than 100, 200, and 200 nm, respectively.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
content type line 23
ISSN:1073-5615
1543-1916
DOI:10.1007/s11663-016-0836-1