Process Overview

For customers in the hardmetal industry, tungsten carbide recycling has become increasingly important. A specialty furnace system combined with a zinc reclaim process enables efficient recovery of scrap tungsten carbide. This process uses molten zinc to break down the cobalt bond structure. After thermal processing, the zinc is removed, leaving a friable tungsten carbide residue that can be easily crushed and reused, with zinc content reduced to ≤50 ppm. While zinc is especially effective on cobalt-based binding systems, nickel-based bonds can also be recovered using this zinc reclaim method and furnace system.

Applications

• Recycling and recovery of tungsten carbide scrap in the hardmetal industry
• Breakdown and removal of cobalt and nickel binder phases from tungsten carbide
• Production of reusable tungsten carbide powder with minimal zinc contamination
• Environmental and cost-effective recovery process for hardmetal manufacturing waste
• Support for sustainable manufacturing and circular economy practices in carbide production
• Preparation of tungsten carbide feedstock for powder metallurgy and sintering operations