WO2014045579A1 - Molten salt bath for dissolving wc-co super-hard alloy, and method for separating and recovering tungsten and cobalt - Google Patents

Description

Molten salt bath for melting WC-Co cemented carbide, and method for separating and recovering tungsten and cobalt

The present invention relates to a molten salt bath used for separating and recovering tungsten and cobalt from a WC-Co cemented carbide, and further separating and recovering tungsten and cobalt from a WC-Co cemented carbide dissolved using a molten salt bath. On how to do.

Conventionally, tungsten has been widely used as a raw material for filament materials and tungsten carbide (WC) because of its high melting point and elastic modulus. In particular, WC is widely used as a material for cemented carbide having a metal such as cobalt as a binder phase.

By the way, tungsten is not only unevenly distributed, but also has a small amount of output, so it is difficult to supply stably, and the price fluctuates greatly due to slight fluctuations in demand. Cobalt is extremely useful as a magnet material derived from ferromagnetism, and further as an additive element for heat-resistant steel and WC-Co cemented carbide. This cobalt, like tungsten, is not only unevenly distributed, but also has a small amount of output, so that stable supply is difficult, and the price fluctuates greatly with slight fluctuations in demand.

From such a situation, in order to realize a stable supply of tungsten and cobalt, it is beneficial to recover tungsten and cobalt from WC-Co cemented carbide waste material made of tungsten and cobalt.

Conventionally, the following method has been proposed as a method for recovering tungsten from WC-Co cemented carbide scrap.

As one of them, a waste material of WC-Co cemented carbide is used at a temperature of 80 ° C. or less using a solution of ferric chloride, ferric oxalate, or cupric chloride, or a solution obtained by adding an inorganic acid to these solutions. There is a method in which cobalt constituting the binder phase is eluted by dipping at a temperature of 5%, and the residue is pulverized to recover tungsten carbide powder (Patent Document 1).

As another method, WC-Co cemented carbide waste material is used to recover tungsten carbide by eluting cobalt constituting the binder phase at a temperature of 81-100 ° C using a solution containing ferric chloride and hydrochloric acid. There are methods to do this (Patent Documents 2 and 3).

As another method, the waste material of WC-Co cemented carbide is immersed in molten metal such as zinc (Zn) or tin (Sn), and the cobalt constituting the binder phase is swollen and divided into WC particles. Thereafter, there is a method in which WC is recovered by evaporating Zn and Sn, and the recovered WC is reused as a WC-Co cemented carbide material (Non-patent Document 1).

Any of the above-described methods recovers tungsten carbide from a cemented carbide mainly composed of tungsten carbide, and does not collect tungsten and cobalt alone, but a cemented carbide material mainly composed of tungsten carbide. However, it is difficult to reuse as a resource other than cemented carbide.

Therefore, in order to be able to use not only cemented carbide but also various metal materials, methods for separating and extracting pure tungsten and cobalt from WC-Co cemented carbide are being studied.

As one of them, a method of leaching WC—Co cemented carbide in an acid and then separating it into tungsten and cobalt by applying a tungsten smelting technique has been studied. Similarly, a method in which a cemented carbide is dissolved by immersing in molten pure sodium nitrate (NaNO ₃ ) and then separated into tungsten and cobalt by applying a technique of tungsten smelting is being studied. By adopting this method, pure tungsten and cobalt can be separated and recovered again from the WC-Co cemented carbide (Patent Documents 4 and 5).

Japanese Patent Publication No.56-36692 JP 2009-179818 A JP 2009-191328 A International Publication No. 2010/104009 JP 2002-198104 A

Manufacturing technology and characteristics of recycled cemented carbide using waste cemented carbide powder, Research report, No. 10, (2003), pp. 37-40, Iwate Industrial Technology Center Yasuhiko Tenmaya, Development project for high-efficiency recovery system for rare metals, etc. “Recovery of tungsten from waste carbide tools”, Metal Resources Report, November 2008, Vol.38, No.4, p.407-413 Reiko Kawakita, et al., Tungsten recovery from waste cemented carbide tools, Symposium “Recycling design and separation and purification technology”

In the method of recovering tungsten and cobalt by leaching a cemented carbide that has been proposed in the past, the leaching rate of the cemented carbide into the acid is slow and not suitable for industrial use. There is a problem that becomes high.

In addition, since NaNO ₃ has a relatively high melting point, it is necessary to heat the NaNO ₃ to around 1000K and dissolve the cemented carbide. At such a high temperature, there is a problem that the evaporation loss of molten NaNO ₃ is large and the corrosion deterioration of the stainless steel constituting the reaction plant vessel used for melting the cemented carbide is remarkable. Then, in the vicinity of 1000 K, there is a decomposed problem sodium peroxide _{(Na 2 O} 2) and evaporation explode gas molten NaNO _3.

The present invention has been proposed in view of such problems, and the technical problem of the present invention is that the WC-Co cemented carbide can be melted at a low temperature, such as stainless steel used for melting the cemented carbide. An object of the present invention is to propose a molten salt bath that can reduce the corrosion damage of a reaction plant vessel formed of steel and has a small evaporation loss.

Furthermore, the technical problem of the present invention is to treat a WC—Co cemented carbide melted using a molten salt bath at a low temperature and with a small evaporation loss by using a wet processing technique. The purpose is to separate and recover pure tungsten (W) and cobalt (Co).

In order to solve the above-described technical problems, the present inventors have achieved a molten salt bath that enables efficient dissolution of cemented carbide at low temperatures as a result of intensive studies. The bath is obtained by uniformly melting molten alkali nitrate in molten alkali chloride.

By the way, alkali chloride and alkali nitrate are difficult to melt uniformly due to the difference in polarity. In view of the above, the present invention has found that an alkali chloride and an alkali nitrate can be uniformly melted, and has realized a molten salt bath of WC-Co cemented carbide.

The molten salt bath according to the present invention uniformly melted the molten alkali nitrate in the molten alkali chloride by using the molten alkali chloride as the solvent salt and the molten alkali nitrate as the solute salt. Here, the uniform melting includes a slurry state in which a solid phase is partly crystallized in the molten salt. Further, it includes a state in which a plurality of separated liquid phases are mixed in an emulsion state or a micelle state.

Further, the molten alkali chloride and the molten alkali nitrate can be made to have a melting point of 773 K or less by blending them with an appropriate composition, and the evaporation loss can be reduced. The mixed chloride of molten alkali chloride and molten alkali nitrate with reduced melting point and reduced evaporation loss in this way is a reaction plant vessel formed by a steel material such as stainless steel used for melting cemented carbide. It can suppress damage due to corrosion and is useful for a molten salt bath for dissolving WC-Co cemented carbide.

When the WC-Co cemented carbide is immersed in the molten salt bath according to the present invention in which molten alkali nitrate as an oxidizing agent is uniformly melted in molten alkali chloride, the outermost surface of the WC-Co crystal particles is successively converted into WO _3. Oxidation into two-component oxide of Co ₃ O ₄ and CoO ₂ and a three-component double oxide of CoWO ₄ is performed to dissolve the WC—Co cemented carbide.

Note that the molten alkali chloride and molten alkali nitrate constituting the molten salt bath according to the present invention are in a complementary relationship.

Conventionally, when pure molten NaNO _{3 obtained} by melting only NaNO ₃ which has been proposed as a molten salt bath for WC-Co cemented carbide is used as a molten salt bath, WC-Co cemented carbide is immersed in the molten salt bath. The oxide layer made of Na ₂ WO ₄ is densely deposited on the outermost surface of the WC—Co crystal particles. The melting point of Na ₂ WO ₄ produced here is around 1000K. Accordingly, in order to melt Na ₂ WO ₄ covering the surface of the WC—Co crystal particles, it is necessary to heat the molten NaNO ₃ to around 1000K. Molten NaNO ₃ evaporates violently when heated to around 1000 K and thermally decomposes into explosive gas Na ₂ O ₂ . That is, a molten salt bath made of pure molten NaNO ₃ is used for a WC-Co at a low temperature of 773 K or less at which a reaction plant container formed of a steel material such as stainless steel used for melting a cemented carbide does not undergo corrosion deterioration. Cemented carbide cannot be dissolved.

On the other hand, the molten salt bath for melting a WC—Co cemented carbide according to the present invention has a chloride ion position in the oxide layer formed on the outermost surface of crystal particles of the WC—Co cemented carbide. Has the effect of replacing. Therefore, the oxide layer produced on the outermost surface of the WC—Co crystal particles is changed to oxytungsten chloride complex ions, and the tungsten component can be rapidly dissolved in the molten salt.

Therefore, the method of the present invention involves immersing a WC-Co cemented carbide in a molten salt bath in which molten alkali nitrate is uniformly melted in molten alkali chloride, and immersing the WC-Co cemented carbide in a molten salt bath. The temperature is raised to about 650 to 1000 K, and the heated state is maintained for a certain period of time to dissolve the WC—Co cemented carbide in the molten salt bath, and then a molten salt bath in which the WC—Co cemented carbide is dissolved. Solidifying to produce a solidified salt, and then filtering the aqueous solution produced by adding water to the solidified salt; from this aqueous solution, tungsten-derived tungsten complex salt dissolved and precipitated from the WC-Co cemented carbide; A cobalt oxide derived from cobalt is separated and recovered.

In the method of the present invention, pure tungsten and cobalt are separated and recovered by purifying the tungsten-derived tungsten complex salt and cobalt-derived cobalt oxide separated and recovered in the above-described steps.

The molten salt bath according to the present invention (1) achieves a low melting point, (2) corrosion of the material constituting the reaction plant vessel used for reducing the evaporation loss and thermal decomposition of the molten salt and dissolving the cemented carbide. By suppressing deterioration, (3) realizing accelerated dissolution of WC-Co cemented carbide, and (4) performing a predetermined purification treatment on the melted WC-Co cemented carbide, Tungsten and pure cobalt can be easily separated and recovered.

Shows the results of CaWO _4, which is deposited by the addition of CaCl ₂ coagulation salt obtained by dissolving the cemented carbide by using a molten salt bath according to the present invention the filtrate was filtered and X-ray spectroscopy (XRD) It is. The CaWO ₄ obtained from cemented carbide and lysed using a molten salt bath according to the present invention, a diagram showing the results of H ₂ WO ₄ precipitated by immersion in boiling hydrochloric acid of 353K and X-ray spectroscopy (XRD) is there. In photographs showing the APT of the _H 2 WO ₄ deposited in boiling hydrochloric acid recovered was recovered after being allowed to stand immersed for 24 hours in aqueous ammonia (ammonium paratungstate _{(NH 4) 10 (H 2} W 12 O 42)) is there. 2 hours APT at 873 K, is a diagram showing a result of the WO ₃ which is produced by thermal decomposition and X-ray spectroscopy (XRD). 2 hours APT at 873 K, the WO ₃ which is produced by thermal decomposition, shows the results of 1.5 hours hydrogen thermal reduction and product produced by the X-ray diffraction at 1123 K. The result of X-ray spectroscopic analysis (XRD) of the product obtained by hydrothermal reduction of the cobalt oxide powder recovered as a residue on the filter paper by adding warm water to the solidified salt solidified in the molten salt bath and filtering the cemented carbide. FIG.

[Dissolved salt bath]
First, an embodiment of the molten salt bath according to the present invention used for melting WC—Co cemented carbide will be described.

The molten salt bath according to the present invention is obtained by uniformly melting molten alkali nitrate in molten alkali chloride. At least two selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) are selected as the alkali chloride constituting the molten salt bath, and NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) is selected as the alkali nitrate. At least one selected from the group is selected. (Claim 1)
More specifically, the molten alkali chloride was used as a solvent salt, the molten alkali nitrate was used as a solute salt, and the molten alkali nitrate was uniformly melted in the molten alkali chloride.

The composition of the molten salt bath is selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) with at least 1 mol% of two or more alkali chlorides selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K). At least one of the alkali nitrates to be produced was 99 mol% or less, and these alkali chlorides and alkali nitrates were uniformly melted.

Here, an alkali selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) containing 1 to 81 mol% of two or more kinds of alkali chlorides selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) Desirably, 99 to 19 mol% of at least one nitrate is contained and uniformly melted.

The molten salt bath according to the present invention is only required to melt the alkali chloride and the alkali nitrate uniformly when the molten alkali chloride is melted as a solvent salt and the molten alkali nitrate is melted as a solute salt. The melting ratio of alkali nitrate is appropriately selected within the above range.

In particular, the molten salt bath according to the present invention is selected from the group of two or more alkali chlorides selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) and NNO ₃ (N = Na, K). At least one of the alkali nitrates is uniformly melted at a composition ratio that makes the melting point 773 k or less.

In the molten salt bath according to the present invention, an alkali chloride selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) achieves a low melting point of the molten salt bath by reducing evaporation loss during high temperature operation. And has a function of dissolving the solid oxide film formed on the surface of the WC—Co cemented carbide into the molten salt as oxytungsten chloride complex ions. Further, the alkali nitrate selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) has a function of oxidizing the surface of the WC—Co cemented carbide.

The molten salt bath according to the present invention contains two or more selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) and CsCl as the alkali chloride constituting the above-described molten salt bath. May be. Since the molten salt bath containing two or more selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) and CsCl as the alkali chloride can further reduce the melting point, It is expected that the evaporation loss can be further reduced, and the function of dissolving the oxide generated on the surface of the cemented carbide immersed in the molten salt bath into the molten salt as an oxytungsten chloride complex ion can be expected.

Molten salt bath according to the present invention, as the alkaline _nitrate, and at least one selected from the group of NNO 3 (N = Na, K ), or may be contained and CsNO _3. The molten salt bath containing CsNO ₃ as part of the alkali nitrate further improves the function of oxidizing the cemented carbide surface and promotes dissolution of the WC—Co cemented carbide.

The molten salt bath according to the present invention includes two or more selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) as alkali chloride and CsCl, and NNO ₃ (N = At least one selected from the group of Na, K) and CsNO ₃ .

Furthermore, in the molten salt bath according to the present invention, a part of two or more kinds of alkali chlorides selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) is converted into a group of MF (M = Li, K, Cs). One or more fluorides selected from the above may be substituted. This molten salt bath can further lower the melting point, and realize further reduction of evaporation loss during high-temperature operation. Further, by using this molten salt bath, a function of dissolving the tungsten oxide film formed on the surface of the cemented carbide as an oxytungsten halide complex ion in the molten salt is further provided.

Further, the molten salt bath according to the present invention may be one in which at least one alkali nitrate selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) is replaced with Na ₂ SO ₄ . Na ₂ SO ₄ contained in the molten salt greed has an effect of reducing the corrosion deterioration of the stainless steel constituting the reaction plant vessel due to the alkali nitrate. Therefore, a molten salt bath containing Na ₂ SO ₄ is more beneficial for protecting the reaction plant vessel.

Furthermore, the molten salt bath according to the present invention comprises two or more alkali chlorides selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) and NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) as an alkali nitrate. At least one selected from the group and CsNO ₃ may be used, and one of the alkali nitrates selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) may be substituted with Na ₂ SO ₄ . The alkali nitrate CsNO ₃ contained in the molten salt bath and Na ₂ SO ₄ substituted with one of the alkali nitrates selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) are reacted with the alkali nitrate. It has the effect of reducing the corrosion deterioration of stainless steel constituting the plant container. Therefore, a molten salt bath containing CsNO ₃ and Na ₂ SO ₄ is more beneficial for protecting the reaction plant vessel.
[Method of melting WC-Co cemented carbide, method of recovering tungsten and cobalt]
Next, a method for separating and recovering tungsten and cobalt from the WC-Co cemented carbide by using any of the above-described dissolved salt baths according to the present invention will be described.

First, any of the above-mentioned molten salt bath and WC—Co cemented carbide are put into a reaction vessel, and the WC—Co cemented carbide is immersed in the molten salt bath. Next, the temperature is raised to about 650 to 1000 K at which the molten salt bath is uniformly melted, preferably to 773 k. The WC—Co cemented carbide is dissolved in the molten salt bath by being immersed in the molten salt bath heated to a predetermined temperature for a predetermined time. The time required for melting the WC—Co cemented carbide is appropriately selected depending on the molten salt bath used and the amount of dissolution.

When the WC-Co cemented carbide is dissolved in the molten salt bath, the tungsten component of the WC-Co cemented carbide is dissolved in the molten salt bath as an oxytungsten halide complex ion, and the cobalt component is CoO ₄ which is a cobalt oxide. And exfoliated as CoO in a molten salt bath. Then, when the molten salt bath from which the oxytungsten halide complex ion and the cobalt oxide are separated is solidified, a solidified salt containing the oxytungsten halide complex salt and the cobalt oxide is obtained. When warm water is added to this coagulated salt, an aqueous solution is obtained.

Incidentally, the tungsten complex salt obtained by dissolving the WC—Co cemented carbide is soluble in water, and the cobalt oxide is insoluble in water.

Therefore, when warm water is added to the solidified salt obtained by solidifying the WC—Co cemented carbide in the molten salt bath, the tungsten complex salt dissolves in the warm water together with the original molten salt component. On the other hand, the cobalt component settles in warm water as oxides CoO ₄ and CoO. When this hot water is filtered, the cobalt oxides CoO ₄ and CoO are recovered as solids, and the tungsten complex salt is separated and recovered as complex ions in the aqueous solution.

The cobalt oxides CoO ₄ and CoO can be easily recovered as pure cobalt by being subjected to hydrogen thermal reduction.

Moreover, pure tungsten can be separated and recovered by applying a predetermined treatment to the tungsten complex recovered in the filtrate. That is, when calcium chloride (CaCl ₂ ) is added to the filtrate in which the tungsten complex is dissolved, calcium tungstate (CaWO ₄ ) is generated. Since CaWO ₄ produced | generated here is hardly soluble, it precipitates in a filtrate. The filtrate was filtered to separate and recover the CaWO _4. When this recovered CaWO ₄ is put into boiling hydrochloric acid and a few drops of oxidizer nitric acid are dropped, CaWO ₄ changes to tungstic acid (H ₂ WO ₄ ). In addition, hydrochloric acid boils at about 353K.

Since H ₂ WO ₄ obtained here is hardly soluble, it precipitates in an aqueous solution. The aqueous solution in which H ₂ WO ₄ is precipitated is filtered to separate and collect H ₂ WO ₄ . When the separated and recovered H ₂ WO ₄ is dissolved in aqueous ammonia and allowed to stand for 24 hours, APT (ammonium paratungstate (NH ₄ ) ₁₀ (H ₂ W ₁₂ O ₄₂ )) is produced. In order to generate the _APT, the time allowed to stand ammonia water having dissolved H 2 WO ₄ is appropriately selected depending on the amount of _H 2 WO ₄ to be introduced to the ammonia water.

Since APT is sparingly soluble, it is produced along with the reaction and precipitates in ammonia water sequentially. APT crystals can be separated and recovered by evaporating and drying the aqueous solution containing the APT precipitate. When APT crystals are thermally decomposed in oxygen or air, tungsten trioxide (WO ₃ ) is obtained. When this WO ₃ is hydrothermally reduced, pure tungsten is obtained.

As described above, the WC—Co cemented carbide is dissolved using the molten salt bath according to the present invention, and the tungsten component and the cobalt component dissolved in the molten salt bath are subjected to the above-described treatment, thereby obtaining a pure water. Tungsten and pure cobalt can be separated and recovered.
[Experimental example]
Next, a molten salt bath having a composition as shown in each experimental example shown in Table 1 below was prepared, and the melting temperature of these molten salt baths was changed, and the WC-Co carbide was immersed in each molten salt bath. The amount of alloy dissolution was measured.

Here, the molten salt bath used in each experimental example will be described. The molten salt bath used in Experimental Examples 1 to 3 shown in Table 1 is used for comparison with the molten salt bath according to the present invention, and is conventionally used. The molten NaNO ₃ proposed as a melting bath for WC—Co cemented carbide is used.

The molten salt baths used in Experimental Examples 4 to 7 shown in Table 1 are obtained by uniformly melting alkali chloride and alkali nitrate, using NaCl and KCl as the alkali chloride and KNO ₃ as the alkali nitrate. . The molten salt bath used in Experimental Examples 4 and 5 contains 48 mol% of NaCl, 33 mol% of KCl, and 19 mol% of KNO ₃ . The molten salt bath used in Experimental Examples 6 and 7 contains 25 mol% NaCl, 25 mol% KCl, and 50 mol% KNO ₃ .

The molten salt bath used in Experimental Examples 8 to 10 shown in Table 1 uses LiCl and KCl as the alkali chloride and KNO ₃ as the alkali nitrate. The molten salt bath used in Experimental Examples 8 to 10 contains 45 mol% LiCl, 35 mol% KCl, and 20 mol% KNO ₃ .

The molten salt bath used in Experimental Examples 11 and 12 shown in Table 1 uses LiCl and KCl as the alkali chloride, and uses Na ₂ SO ₄ which is a sulfate instead of the alkali nitrate. Na ₂ SO _4, which is a sulfate, functions as an oxidizing agent. The molten salt bath used in Experimental Examples 11 to 12 contains 53 mol% LiCl, 37 mol% KCl, and 10 mol% Na ₂ SO ₄ .

The molten salt used in Experimental Examples 13 and 14 shown in Table 1 consists only of KNO ₃ .

The molten salt baths used in Experimental Examples 15 and 16 shown in Table 1 use NaCl and KCl as alkali chlorides and KNO ₃ as alkali nitrates, similarly to the molten salt baths used in Experimental Examples 4 to 7. However, the composition ratio is different. The molten salt baths used in Experimental Examples 15 and 16 contain 10 mol% NaCl, 10 mol% KCl, and 80 mol% KNO ₃ .

Furthermore, the molten salt used in Experimental Example 17 shown in Table 1 is composed only of alkali chloride, and is composed of 58 mol% NaCl and 42 mol% KCl.

Next, conditions and procedures for melting the WC—Co cemented carbide using the molten salt used in each of the experimental examples 1 to 17 shown in Table 1 described above will be described, and the WC—Co super melt dissolved in each experimental example will be described. The amount of hard alloy dissolved and the recovery rates of tungsten and cobalt recovered from the dissolved WC-Co cemented carbide are shown in Table 1 above, and the molten salt bath used for each experiment is a melting vessel. Describe the impact on

The molten salt bath used in each experimental example described below was obtained by melting 60 g of a salt having the composition shown in Table 1 in an argon (Ar) stream. A WC—Co cemented carbide having a size of 12.6 mm × 8.1 mm × 4.5 mm and a weight of 6.3 g was prepared as a cemented carbide to be melted by being immersed in the molten salt bath. A stainless steel (SUS304) container was used as a reaction container for melting the WC—Co cemented carbide.

In the following experimental examples, after the WC—Co cemented carbide was immersed in a molten salt bath heated to a predetermined temperature for 3 hours, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten salt bath was measured. . Here, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide was measured by measuring a solidified salt obtained by solidifying the components dissolved in the molten salt bath.

Further, the separation and recovery of tungsten and cobalt from the WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten salt bath was performed using the extraction recovery method as described above. The recovery rates of tungsten and cobalt shown in Table 1 are based on the tungsten component and the cobalt component separated and recovered by dissolving in the molten salt bath.

First, in Experimental Example 1, a WC—Co cemented carbide was immersed in molten NaNO ₃ in which 100% of the composition was NaNO ₃ . At this time, the temperature of molten NaNO ₃ was set to 973K. As a result, as shown in Table 1, 4.42 g of the WC—Co cemented carbide was dissolved in the molten salt bath. In Experimental Example 1, the evaporation loss of molten NaNO ₃ was large, and the corrosion of the reaction vessel made of stainless steel filled with molten NaNO ₃ was significant. Also in the following experimental examples, reactors made of stainless steel were used.

In Experimental Example 2, the temperature of molten NaNO ₃ in which the WC—Co cemented carbide was immersed was set to 873 K, which is lower than that of Experimental Example 1. As shown in Table 1, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide was 3.61 g. Also in this example, the corrosion of the reaction vessel was remarkable.

In Experimental Example 3, molten NaNO _{3 in} which the WC—Co cemented carbide was immersed was set to 773 K, which was lower in temperature than Experimental Examples 1 and 2. The dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide at this time was 0.17 g as shown in Table 1.

As shown in Experimental Examples 1 to 3, when molten NaNO ₃ is used for melting WC—Co cemented carbide, 50 wt% of WC—Co cemented carbide is obtained by setting the molten NaNO ₃ to a high temperature of 873 K or higher. It can be dissolved. However, corrosion of the reaction vessel used for melting the WC—Co cemented carbide is extremely unsuitable for practical use.

Further, in order to suppress corrosion of the stainless steel reaction vessel, when the temperature of molten NaNO ₃ is set to 773 K or less, the Na ₂ WO ₄ oxide coating covers the surface of the WC—Co cemented carbide, so Hard alloys cannot be melted.

Therefore, conventionally proposed molten NaNO ₃ cannot be used as a solvent for dissolving WC—Co cemented carbide and separating and recovering pure tungsten and cobalt from this alloy.

Experimental Example 4 uses a molten salt bath in which alkali chloride and alkali nitrate are uniformly melted. Here, NaCl and KCl were used as the alkali chloride, and KNO ₃ was used as the alkali nitrate. The composition was NaCl 48 mol%, KCl 33 mol%, and KNO ₃ 19 mol%. The WC—Co cemented carbide was immersed in this molten salt bath, and the temperature of the molten salt bath was set to 873K. At this time, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide in the molten salt bath was 3.52 g as shown in Table 1. This dissolution amount was a large dissolution amount equivalent to the conventionally proposed molten NaNO ₃ of 873K.

In Experimental Example 4, it was confirmed that the evaporation loss was smaller than that in the case of using the conventional molten NaNO ₃ and the corrosion deterioration of the reaction vessel used for dissolving the WC—Co cemented carbide was reduced. .

The tungsten component obtained by dissolving the WC—Co cemented carbide in Experimental Example 4 is extracted as a tungsten complex salt soluble in water, and the cobalt component is extracted as CoO ₄ and CoO insoluble in water. These tungsten complex salts soluble in water and CoO ₄ and CoO insoluble in water can be separated and extracted independently by filtration. The tungsten complex salt and CoO ₄ and CoO that are separated and extracted independently can be recovered as pure tungsten and cobalt through the purification process as described above. As shown in Table 1, 95% by weight of the dissolved amount was recovered in the case of tungsten, and 90% by weight of the dissolved amount was recovered in the case of cobalt.

In addition, in the recovery rate of cobalt, there is a loss of 10% by weight. This is a loss of adhesion to the filter paper used when the tungsten component and the cobalt component are separated and filtered. By recovering this adhesion, cobalt is recovered. The total amount can also be recovered at.

In Experimental Example 5, a molten salt bath similar to the molten salt bath used in Experimental Example 4 was used, and the temperature of the molten salt bath was set to 773 K, which is lower than that of Experimental Example 4. At this time, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide was 2.85 g. By using a molten salt bath containing 48 mol% NaCl, 33 mol% KCl, and 19 mol% KNO ₃ , WC-Co can be dissolved at a low temperature that could not be dissolved by the conventionally proposed molten NaNO _3. Cemented carbide could be melted.

Further, by setting the temperature of the molten salt bath to 773 K, the evaporation loss can be further reduced, and the corrosion deterioration of the stainless steel reaction vessel was further reduced.

As shown in Table 1, the recovery rates of pure tungsten and cobalt obtained by refining and recovering the tungsten component and the cobalt component obtained by dissolving the WC-Co cemented carbide in Experimental Example 5 are as follows. It was 95% by weight of the dissolved amount, and in the case of cobalt, it was 90% by weight of the dissolved amount.

Experimental Example 6 is similar to Experimental Examples 4 and 5, in which alkali chloride and alkali nitrate are uniformly melted. NaCl and KCl are used as alkali chloride, and KNO ₃ is used as alkali nitrate. The composition was NaCl 25 mol%, KCl 25 mol%, and KNO ₃ 50 mol%. In this experimental example, this molten salt bath was set to 873K. As shown in Table 1, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide was 5.79 g. From the results of this experiment, it was confirmed that the dissolution rate of this Experimental Example 6 was about 1.6 times that when melting the WC-Co cemented carbide with molten NaNO ₃ at 873 K as in this Experimental Example. .

Also in Experimental Example 6, it was confirmed that the evaporation loss was small as compared with the case of using molten NaNO ₃ and further the corrosion deterioration of the reaction vessel was reduced.

Also in Example 6, pure tungsten and cobalt recovery rates obtained by refining and recovering the tungsten component and cobalt component obtained by melting the WC-Co cemented carbide are shown in Table 1. In this case, the amount was 95% by weight of the dissolved amount, and in the case of cobalt, the amount was 90% by weight.

In Experimental Example 7, the WC—Co cemented carbide was dissolved using the same molten salt bath as that used in Experimental Example 6, but the temperature of the molten salt bath was 773 K, which was lower than that of Experimental Example 6. It was. In Experimental Example 7, as shown in Table 1, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide was 2.35 g.

In Experimental Example 7, it was confirmed that the evaporation loss of the molten salt bath was suppressed and the corrosion deterioration of the reaction vessel was reduced, but the dissolution rate of the WC—Co cemented carbide was lower than that of Experimental Example 6. Therefore, when melting WC—Co cemented carbide using a molten salt bath containing 25 mol% NaCl, 25 mol% KCl, and 50 mol% KNO ₃ , it is preferably performed at a temperature of about 873 K.

Next, Experimental Example 8 uses a molten salt bath in which alkali chloride and alkali nitrate are uniformly melted. Here, LiCl and KCl were used as the alkali chloride, and KNO ₃ was used as the alkali nitrate. The composition was LiCl 45 mol%, KCl 35 mol%, and KNO ₃ 20 mol%. The WC—Co cemented carbide was immersed in this molten salt bath, and the molten salt bath was set to 873K. As shown in Table 1, the amount of WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten salt bath at this time was 6.22 g. The amount of dissolution was about 1.5 times as compared with the case of melting the WC—Co cemented carbide with molten NaNO ₃ at 973 K at the same temperature. The decrease in the molten salt bath in this experimental example is smaller than that in the case of using molten NaNO _3, and it is recognized that the corrosion deterioration of the reaction vessel is also reduced, and this is applied to industrial tungsten and cobalt dissolution. It is preferable.

Also in Experimental Example 8, as shown in Table 1, the recovery rates of pure tungsten and cobalt obtained by refining and recovering the tungsten component and the cobalt component obtained by melting the WC-Co cemented carbide are shown in Table 1. In the case of cobalt, it was 95% by weight of the total amount dissolved in the molten salt bath, and in the case of cobalt, it was 90% by weight of the amount dissolved in the molten salt bath.

From Experimental Example 8, by using a molten salt bath containing 45 mol% LiCl, 35 mol% KCl, and 20 mol% KNO ₃ , this molten salt bath was set to 937 K, and the WC-Co cemented carbide was dissolved. The WC—Co cemented carbide can be melted with high efficiency, and damage to the reaction vessel can be effectively prevented while suppressing the decrease of the molten salt bath.

In Experimental Example 9, the WC—Co cemented carbide is melted using a molten salt bath similar to the molten salt bath used in Experimental Example 8, but the temperature of the molten salt bath is lower than that of Experimental Example 8 at 873K. It was. The amount of WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten salt bath at this time was 5.83 g as shown in Table 1. The amount of dissolution was about 1.6 times that of the case of using 873K molten NaNO ₃ as in this experimental example.

In Experimental Example 9, it was confirmed that the evaporation loss of the molten salt bath was smaller than that in the case of using molten NaNO ₃ , and further, the corrosion deterioration of the reaction vessel was reduced, and industrial WC-Co carbide It is suitable for application to melting of alloys.

Also in Experimental Example 9, as shown in Table 1, the recovery rates of pure tungsten and cobalt obtained by purifying the tungsten component and the cobalt component obtained by melting the WC-Co cemented carbide are as shown in Table 1. In the case of cobalt, it was 95% by weight of almost the entire dissolved amount, and in the case of cobalt, it was 90% by weight of the dissolved amount.

By the way, when a molten salt bath with 45 mol% LiCl, 35 mol% KCl, and 20 mol% KNO ₃ is used, even when the temperature of the molten salt bath is 873 K, the WC-Co cemented carbide is dissolved. Can be performed at a sufficiently high efficiency, and can be used in an industrial WC-Co cemented carbide melting step.

In Experimental Example 10, the WC—Co cemented carbide is melted using a molten salt bath having the same composition as the molten salt bath used in Experimental Example 8, but the temperature of the molten salt bath is set to Experimental Examples 8 and 9. The temperature was set to 773K, which is even lower. As a result, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide in the molten salt bath was 2.54 g as shown in Table 1.

As is clear from Experimental Example 10, by using a molten salt bath in which LiCl is 45 mol%, KCl is 35 mol%, and KNO ₃ is 20 mol%, dissolution can be performed in a molten bath composed only of molten NaNO _3. The WC-Co cemented carbide can be melted at a low temperature that could not be achieved. The amount of dissolution was also the same as that obtained when the dissolution baths used in Experimental Examples 5 and 7 were used.

Also in Experimental Example 10, the recovery rates of pure tungsten and cobalt purified and recovered from the tungsten component and the cobalt component obtained by melting the WC-Co cemented carbide are shown in Table 1. In the case of cobalt, it was 95% by weight of almost the entire dissolved amount, and in the case of cobalt, it was 90% by weight of the dissolved amount.

Next, Experimental Examples 11 and 12 are sulfate salts that function as oxidizing agents instead of alkali nitrates, and are molten salt baths in which alkali chlorides and sulfates are uniformly melted. LiCl and KCl were used, Na ₂ SO ₄ was used as the sulfate, and the composition was 53 mol% LiCl, 37 mol% KCl, and 10 mol% Na ₂ SO ₄ . Using this molten salt bath, the WC-Co cemented carbide was dissolved. At this time, the temperature of the molten salt bath was 873 K in Experimental Example 11 and 973 K in Experimental Example 12. As shown in Table 1, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide in the molten salt bath in Experimental Examples 11 and 12 was 0.10 g in Experimental Example 11 and 0.88 g in Experimental Example 12. . The recovery rates of pure tungsten and cobalt obtained by refining the tungsten component and the cobalt component obtained by dissolving the WC-Co cemented carbide are as shown in Table 1. For tungsten, it was 75% by weight of the dissolved amount, and for cobalt, it was 90% by weight of the dissolved amount.

From Experimental Examples 11 and 12, even in a molten salt bath in which alkali chloride and Na ₂ SO ₄ which is a sulfate functioning as an oxidizing agent instead of alkali nitrate are uniformly melted, WC-Co cemented carbide Dissolution is possible.

By the way, when the WC—Co cemented carbide was melted using the molten salt bath configured as shown in Experimental Examples 11 and 12, the amount of dissolution was increased when the temperature of the molten salt bath was increased. When the temperature of the molten salt bath was increased by 100 K, as apparent from Experimental Examples 11 and 12, the temperature increased by a factor of 8 or more. From these experimental examples, when melting WC-Co cemented carbide in a molten salt bath in which alkali chloride and sulfate are uniformly melted, the molten salt bath is a sufficiently industrial melting step by raising the temperature to 900K or higher. Can be used.

As in Experimental Examples 11 and 12, when a molten salt bath in which alkali chloride and sulfate were uniformly melted was used as the molten salt bath, melting in which alkaline chloride and alkali nitrate were uniformly melted as shown in Experimental Examples 4 to 10 Compared with the case where a salt bath was used, the amount of WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved was lowered, and the recovery rate of tungsten was lowered. This is because when CaCl ₂ is added to an aqueous solution containing a tungsten complex ion to precipitate CaWO ₄ , a large amount of gypsum CaSO ₄ is co-precipitated and it is difficult to control the precipitation of CaSO ₄ . However, it was confirmed that the molten salt baths used in Experimental Examples 11 and 12 had a small evaporation loss when heated, and the corrosion deterioration of the stainless steel (SUS304) container constituting the reaction container was reduced. Therefore, the molten salt bath used in Experimental Examples 11 and 12 is useful for industrial tungsten and cobalt recovery processes.

The recovery rates of pure tungsten and cobalt obtained by refining the tungsten component and the cobalt component obtained by dissolving the WC-Co cemented carbide are as shown in Table 1 for both Experimental Examples 11 and 12. For tungsten, it was 75% by weight of the dissolved amount, and for cobalt, it was 90% by weight of the dissolved amount.

Next, Experimental Example 13 is an example in which molten WC—Co cemented carbide was dissolved using molten KNO ₃ consisting only of KNO ₃ which is an alkali chloride as a molten salt bath. In this experimental example, the temperature of molten KNO ₃ was set to 873K. The amount of WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten KNO ₃ at this time was 4.87 g as shown in Table 1. In this experimental example, there was an evaporation loss equivalent to that when using molten NaNO ₃ as in Experimental Examples 1 to 3, and the corrosion deterioration of the reaction vessel was also remarkable.

In Experimental Example 13, since the evaporation loss of the molten KNO ₃ was large and the corrosion deterioration of the reaction vessel was significant, the recovery of tungsten and cobalt from the dissolved WC—Co cemented carbide was not performed. .

Experimental Example 14, and the molten KNO ₃ consisting only of KNO ₃ in 773 K, it was dissolved WC-Co cemented carbide. In this experimental example, the amount of WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved in molten KNO ₃ is 0.36 g as shown in Table 1. Even in this experimental example, the amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten KNO ₃ is small and the evaporation loss of the molten KNO ₃ is large, so that it cannot be put to practical use.

Next, the molten salt bath used in Experimental Example 15 uses NaCl and KCl as the alkali chloride and KNO ₃ as the alkali nitrate, and the composition is NaCl of 10 mol% and KCl of 10 mol%. KNO ₃ is 80 mol%.

In Experimental Example 15, WC-Co cemented carbide was melted at a molten salt bath of 773K. The dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide in the molten salt bath at this time was 2.72 g as shown in Table 1. The amount of dissolution obtained in this experimental example is the same as that of Experimental Examples 5 and 7 using the same molten salt bath as that of this Experimental Example. As shown in Table 1, the recovery rate of pure tungsten and cobalt obtained by refining the tungsten component and cobalt component obtained by melting the WC-Co cemented carbide is also dissolved in tungsten. It was 95% by weight of the total amount, and in the case of cobalt, it was 90% by weight of the dissolved amount.

The molten salt bath used in this experimental example can dissolve WC-Co cemented carbide at a low temperature of 773K, so that the evaporation loss of the molten salt bath at the time of dissolution can be reduced and corrosion deterioration of the reaction vessel can be suppressed. .

In Experimental Example 16, the WC—Co cemented carbide was dissolved using the same dissolved salt bath as in Experimental Example 15, and the molten salt bath was set to 873K. The amount of WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten salt bath at this time was 5.94 g as shown in Table 1. The dissolution amount obtained in this experimental example is more than that obtained in Experimental Examples 5 and 7 using a molten salt bath having the same composition as the molten salt bath used in this experimental example, and an extremely large dissolution amount is obtained. Can do. As shown in Table 1, the recovery rate of pure tungsten and cobalt recovered by refining the tungsten component and the cobalt component obtained by dissolving the WC-Co cemented carbide is as follows. It was 95% by weight of the total amount of the dissolved amount, and in the case of cobalt, it was 90% by weight of the dissolved amount. However, by setting the temperature of the molten salt bath to 873 K, evaporation loss of the molten salt bath was observed.

When the WC-Co cemented carbide is dissolved in the molten salt bath using NaCl and KCl as the alkali chloride and KNO ₃ as the alkali nitrate from the above-mentioned Experimental Examples 6, 7, 15, and 16, the content of KNO ₃ is included. It is advantageous to increase the amount.

In Experimental Example 17, the solvent salt bath was composed only of alkaline chlorides LiCl and KCl, and the composition thereof was 58 mol% LiCl and 42 mol% KCl. In this experimental example, the molten salt bath in which the WC—Co cemented carbide was immersed was heated to 973 K, but no dissolution of the WC—Co cemented carbide was observed.

From the experimental examples described above, it was found that by using a molten salt bath in which alkali chloride and alkali nitrate were uniformly melted, WC—Co cemented carbide was dissolved and tungsten and cobalt could be recovered by subsequent chemical treatment.

By the way, when WC-Co cemented carbide is melted using a molten salt bath in which alkali chloride and alkali nitrate are uniformly melted, the evaporation loss of the dissolved salt bath is suppressed and deterioration of the container used for the reaction is prevented. It is necessary to operate at as low a temperature as possible.

Therefore, earnest research was conducted on a molten salt bath that can dissolve WC-Co cemented carbide at a temperature of 773 K or less, which can suppress evaporation loss of the molten salt bath and suppress thermal decomposition loss.

Table 2 shows a molten salt bath that can dissolve WC-Co cemented carbide at 773K. All of the molten salt baths shown in Table 2 are obtained by uniformly melting alkali chloride and alkali nitrate. Hereinafter, experimental examples shown in Table 2 will be described.

In the experimental example shown in Table 2, a molten salt bath having a composition as shown in Table 2 was filled in a stainless steel (SUS304) reaction vessel, and the molten salt bath was heated to 773K. After immersing a WC-Co cemented carbide alloy having a size of 12.6 mm × 8.1 mm × 4.5 mm and a weight of 6.3 g in this molten salt bath for 3 hours, as in the experimental example described above. The dissolved amount of was measured.

In Experimental Example 18, NaCl and KCl were used as the alkali chloride, KNO ₃ was used as the alkali nitrate, and the composition was 9 mol% NaCl, 6 mol% KCl, and 85 mol% KNO ₃ . In Experimental Example 18, the amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten salt bath was 2.91 g.

In Experimental Example 19, NaCl and KCl were used as the alkali chloride, KNO ₃ was used as the alkali nitrate, and the composition thereof was 7.2 mol% for NaCl, 4.8 mol% for KCl, and 88 mol% for KNO ₃ . In Experimental Example 19, the amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten salt bath was 4.83 g.

In Experimental Example 20, NaCl and KCl were used as the alkali chloride, KNO ₃ was used as the alkali nitrate, the composition was NaCl 6 mol%, KCl 4 mol%, and KNO ₃ 90 mol%. In Experimental Example 20, the amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten salt bath was 5.73 g.

In Experimental Example 21, NaCl and KCl were used as the alkali chloride, KNO ₃ was used as the alkali nitrate, and the composition was NaCl 3 mol%, KCl 2 mol%, and KNO ₃ 95 mol%. In Experimental Example 21, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide in the molten salt bath was 5.30 g.

In Experimental Example 22, NaCl and KCl were used as the alkali chloride, KNO ₃ was used as the alkali nitrate, and the composition thereof was 1.2 mol% NaCl, 0.8 mol% KCl, and 98 mol% KNO ₃ . In Experimental Example 22, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide in the molten salt bath was 5.12 g.

In Experimental Example 23, NaCl and KCl were used as the alkali chloride, KNO ₃ was used as the alkali nitrate, and the composition thereof was 0.6 mol% NaCl, 0.4 mol% KCl, and 99 mol% KNO ₃ . In Experimental Example 23, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide in the molten salt bath was 3.91 g.

In Experimental Example 24, NaCl and KCl were used as the alkali chloride, NaNO ₃ was used as the alkali nitrate, and the composition was NaCl 12 mol%, KCl 8 mol%, and NaNO ₃ 80 mol%. In Experimental Example 24, the dissolution amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide in the molten salt bath was 1.76 g.

In Experimental Example 25, NaCl and KCl were used as the alkali chloride, NaNO ₃ was used as the alkali nitrate, the composition was 9 mol% NaCl, 6 mol% KCl, and 85 mol% NaNO ₃ . In Experimental Example 25, the amount of the WC—Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten salt bath was 0.86 g.

From the above experimental example, by adding a small amount of molten alkali nitrate to molten alkali chloride, WC-Co cemented carbide can be dissolved at a temperature of 773 K or less that can suppress alkali nitrate evaporation and suppress thermal decomposition. It has been found that a molten salt bath is obtained.

From Experimental Examples 18 to 25, when KNO ₃ is used as the alkali nitrate, the WC—Co cemented carbide can be dissolved only by adding about 1 mol% of alkali chloride to the molten salt bath. When NaNO ₃ is used as the alkali nitrate, it is desirable to contain 15 mol% or more of alkali chloride in the molten salt bath in order to obtain a practical amount of dissolution.

Next, Table 3 shows experimental examples in which cemented carbide was dissolved using a molten salt bath to which CsCl was added as an alkali chloride and further fluoride was added as a halide component.

In the molten salt bath of the experimental example shown in Table 3, as in the experimental example shown in Table 2, 6.3 g of WC-Co cemented carbide was immersed in the molten salt bath at a temperature of 773 K for 3 hours, and the amount dissolved therein. Weighed.

Note that 773 K is a temperature at which the evaporation loss of the molten salt bath can be suppressed and the thermal decomposition loss can be suppressed.

In Experimental Example 26, WC—Co cemented carbide was melted using a molten salt bath in which NaCl 48 mol% and KCl 32 mol% were added to KNO ₃ 19 mol%, and CsCl 1 mol% was further added and uniformly melted. In this molten salt bath, by adding basic CsCl, an effect of decomposing an oxide film on the surface of the cemented carbide formed by oxidation with KNO ₃ which is an alkali nitrate is obtained, and 6.3 g of WC-Co is obtained at 773K. When the cemented carbide was immersed for 3 hours, 3.99 g could be dissolved.

In Experimental Example 27, 18 mol% of KNO ₃ was added with 48 mol% of NaCl and 29 mol% of KCl, and further, Ks of ₃ mol% of fluoride and CsF of 1 mol% of fluoride were added and WC was used to uniformly melt the WC. -Co cemented carbide was melted. By adding basic KF and CsF, this molten salt bath decomposes the oxide film on the surface of the cemented carbide formed by oxidation with KNO ₃ which is an alkali nitrate, and generates molten oxytungsten halide complex ions. An acceleration effect was obtained, and 2.19 g could be dissolved when 6.3 g of WC—Co cemented carbide was immersed for 3 hours at 773K.

In Experimental Example 28, NaCl 48 mol%, KCl 29 mol%, KF ₃ mol%, CsF 1 mol%, and CsNO ₃ were added to 13 mol% of KNO ₃ , and further, 5 mol% of Na ₂ SO ₄ was added, and a molten salt bath uniformly melted was used. -Co cemented carbide was melted. In this molten salt bath, basic KF and CsF are added, and CsNO ₃ which decreases the viscosity of the molten salt bath is added, so that the surface of the cemented carbide formed by oxidation with KNO ₃ which is an alkali nitrate is oxidized. It was effective in decomposing the coating and accelerating the formation of molten oxytungsten halide complex ions, and was able to dissolve 1.87 g when 6.3 g of WC—Co cemented carbide was immersed for 3 hours at 773 K.

In Experimental Example 29, NaCl 41 mol% and KF 39 mol% were added to 20 mol% of KNO ₃ , and the WC—Co cemented carbide was dissolved using a uniformly molten salt bath. Using this molten salt bath, 6.29 g could be dissolved when 6.3 g of WC-Co cemented carbide was immersed for 3 hours at 773K.

From Experimental Example 29, the effect of accelerating the generation of molten tungstate complex ions by increasing the amount of basic KF added to decompose the oxide film on the surface of the cemented carbide produced by the oxidant KNO ₃ Largely, almost all of 6.3 g of WC-Co cemented carbide could be dissolved at 773K.

The solidified salt obtained by dissolving the WC—Co cemented carbide in the molten salt bath according to Experimental Examples 18 to 29 described above was prepared in the same manner as in Experimental Examples 4 to 12 and Experimental Examples 15 and 16 described above. When dissolved therein, the tungsten component is extracted as a tungsten complex salt soluble in water, and the cobalt component is extracted as CoO ₄ and CoO insoluble in water. These water-soluble tungsten complex salts and CoO ₄ and CoO that are insoluble in water can be separated and extracted independently by filtering using, for example, filter paper.

By the way, when the aqueous solution in which the tungsten complex salt dissolved by filtering the aqueous solution in which the solidified salt eluted in the molten salt bath is filtered is treated with an ion exchange resin, divalent tungstate ion (WO ₄ ²⁻ ) Is selectively trapped by the cation in the ion exchange resin rather than the monovalent anions Cl ⁻ , F ⁻ and NO ₃ ⁻ . When WO ₄ ^2-in the captured ion exchange resin added eluent such as ammonium chloride _{(NH 4 Cl), WO 4} 2- are released from the ion-exchange resin, it is possible to produce an aqueous solution of ammonium tungstate. Pure ammonium can be separated and recovered by evaporating and drying the aqueous ammonium tungstate solution produced here, followed by thermal decomposition and further hydrogen reduction.
[Example of separation and recovery of tungsten and cobalt]
Next, a specific example in which pure tungsten and cobalt are recovered from the WC-Co cemented carbide melted using the above-described molten salt bath will be described. In the following description, an example in which pure tungsten and cobalt are recovered from the WC-Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten salt bath shown in Experimental Example 8 will be described.

For example, as described in Experimental Example 8 described above, when the WC—Co cemented carbide is immersed and dissolved in the molten salt bath, the tungsten component is dissolved in the molten salt bath as a tungsten complex salt, and the cobalt component is It is dissolved in the molten salt bath as CoO ₄ and CoO which are cobalt oxides.

Next, the molten salt bath in which the tungsten complex salt and the cobalt oxides CoO ₄ and CoO are dissolved is solidified to obtain a solidified salt containing the tungsten complex salt, CoO ₄ and CoO. When hot water is added to the coagulated salt to form an aqueous solution, which is filtered, water-insoluble CoO ₄ and CoO and water-soluble tungsten complex salt are separated and recovered.

When CaCl ₂ is added to the filtrate in which the tungsten complex is dissolved, CaWO 4 is produced in the filtrate. The compound produced here was subjected to X-ray diffraction. The results are shown in the X-ray spectroscopic analysis (XRD) diagram of FIG. In Figure 1, a peak was observed in the CaWO _4, it has been shown to CaWO ₄ is generated.

Since CaWO ₄ obtained here is hardly soluble, it settles in the filtrate. By filtering the filtrate, CaWO ₄ can be separated and recovered.

When the recovered CaWO ₄ is poured into 353K boiling hydrochloric acid and several drops of oxidant nitric acid are dropped, CaWO ₄ changes to tungstic acid (H ₂ WO ₄ ). The compound obtained here was subjected to X-ray diffraction. The results are shown in the X-ray spectroscopic analysis (XRD) diagram of FIG. _2, observed peak H 2 WO _4, it is shown that has been generated H 2 WO _4.

Since H ₂ WO ₄ is hardly soluble, it precipitates in an aqueous solution. Therefore, the aqueous solution in which H ₂ WO ₄ is deposited is filtered to separate and recover H ₂ WO ₄ . When the separated and recovered H ₂ WO ₄ is put into ammonia water and allowed to stand for 24 hours, APT is precipitated. The APT deposited here is shown in FIG.

APT crystals obtained by evaporating and drying the ammonia water on which APT was precipitated were thermally decomposed in 873 K oxygen or air for 2 hours. The material obtained here was subjected to X-ray diffraction. The results are shown in the X-ray spectroscopic analysis (XRD) diagram of FIG. Peak WO ₃ was observed in 4, it is shown that the WO ₃ is generated.

Then, for 1.5 h hydrogen thermal reduction of WO ₃ which is produced from APT crystals at 1123 K. X-ray diffraction was applied to the hydrogen-reduced product. The results are shown in the X-ray spectroscopic analysis (XRD) diagram of FIG. In FIG. 5, it is recognized that a peak is observed only in tungsten and that pure tungsten is generated. The recovery rate of this tungsten was 95%.

In order to recover cobalt from the WC-Co cemented carbide dissolved in the molten salt bath, warm water is added to the solidified salt obtained by solidifying the molten salt bath in which the tungsten complex salt and CoO ₄ and CoO are dissolved, and this is filtered. To do. At this time, it is recovered as a powder of CoO ₄ and CoO insoluble in water recovered as a residue on the filter paper. The recovered CoO ₄ and CoO powders were hydrothermally reduced at 773 K for 3 hours. The reduced product was subjected to X-ray diffraction. The result is shown in FIG. As is clear from FIG. 6, it is recognized that a peak is observed only in cobalt and that pure cobalt is produced. The cobalt recovery rate was 90%.

Also from the above experimental examples, two or more kinds of alkali chlorides selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) and alkalis selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Li, Na, K). The molten salt bath according to the present invention in which nitrate is uniformly melted is extremely useful for dissolving WC—Co cemented carbide, and can be used for industrial recovery of tungsten and cobalt.

Claims (12)

A molten salt bath for melting WC-Co cemented carbide,
Uniform melting of two or more alkali chlorides selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) and one or more alkali nitrates selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) A molten salt bath for melting a WC-Co cemented carbide, characterized in that The molten salt bath for dissolving WC-Co cemented carbide according to claim 1, wherein the alkali chloride is contained in an amount of 1 mol% or more and the alkali nitrate is contained in an amount of 99 mol% or less. The molten salt bath for melting WC-Co cemented carbide according to claim 1, wherein the alkali chloride is contained in an amount of 1 to 81 mol% and the alkali nitrate is contained in an amount of 99 to 19 mol%. At least one selected from the group consisting of two or more alkali chlorides selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) and an alkali nitrate selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) is: 2. The molten salt bath for melting a WC—Co cemented carbide according to claim 1, wherein the molten salt is mixed and uniformly melted at a composition ratio of 773 k or less. 2. The melt for melting WC—Co cemented carbide according to claim 1, wherein the alkali chloride is composed of two or more selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) and CsCl. Salt bath. The molten WC-Co cemented carbide according to claim 1, wherein the alkali nitrate comprises at least one selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) and CsNO _3. Salt bath. The alkali chloride includes two or more selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) and CsCl, and the alkali nitrate is selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K). The molten salt bath for melting a WC-Co cemented carbide according to claim 1, further comprising at least one kind and CsNO ₃ . A part of the two or more types of alkali chloride selected from the group of MCl (M = Li, Na, K) is replaced with one or more types of fluoride selected from the group of MF (M = Li, K, Cs). The molten salt bath for melting a WC-Co cemented carbide according to claim 1, wherein the molten salt bath is substituted with a fluoride. The WC-Co cemented carbide for melting WC-Co according to claim 1, wherein at least one alkali nitrate selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) is substituted with Na ₂ SO ₄ . Molten salt bath. The alkali nitrate includes at least one selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) and CsNO ₃ , and further one type of alkali nitrate selected from the group of NNO ₃ (N = Na, K) The molten salt bath for dissolving WC-Co cemented carbide according to claim 8, wherein is replaced with Na ₂ SO ₄ . A molten salt bath in which a WC-Co cemented carbide is immersed in the molten salt bath according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the WC-Co cemented carbide is immersed in the molten salt bath. The WC-Co cemented carbide is dissolved in the molten salt bath while maintaining the elevated temperature for a certain period of time.
Next, the molten salt bath in which the WC-Co cemented carbide is dissolved is solidified to produce a solidified salt, and then the aqueous solution produced by adding water to the solidified salt is filtered. From the aqueous solution, the WC A method for separating and recovering tungsten and cobalt, comprising separating and recovering a tungsten-derived tungsten complex salt precipitated by dissolving a Co cemented carbide and cobalt-derived cobalt oxide. A tungsten complex salt of tungsten and cobalt, wherein the tungsten complex salt derived from tungsten separated and recovered by the method of claim 11 and the cobalt oxide derived from cobalt are purified to separate and recover pure tungsten and cobalt, respectively. Separation and recovery method.

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