Direct carburation of tungsten blue oxide in a fluidized bed reactor

The demand for tungsten carbide powders with grain sizes below 1 μm has significantly increased during the last two decades by the further development of improved cemented carbides. Therefore, the production of tungsten carbide powders by direct carburation of tungsten blue oxide in a fluidized bed reactor was investigated. The intention was to produce fine tungsten carbide powders from tungsten oxides by gas phase carburation with hydrogen/carbon monoxide gas mixtures in a single step process. The carburation time depends on the conditions of the experiment, essentially on the temperature and the gas/solid-ratio. Furthermore, the necessary time for a complete carburation without the formation of free carbon is acceptable.