Recycling of tungsten carbide scrap metal: A review of recycling methods and future prospects

Statistics show that tungsten-based scrap will become an increasingly important source of raw material for the worldwide tungsten industry. Thus the future prospects of recycling will require optimization of current recycling methods, as well as the possible development of new ones with special emphasis on conversion and energy costs, purity of the scrap metal, recovery of all valuable constituents, as well as diminished environmental impact. In this paper, a review of current research efforts and various methods of scrap recovery, future prospects and sustainability of the tungsten industry, are presented.