Process for reclaiming tungsten from a hazardous waste

Patent · Tue Jun 12 04:00:00 EDT 1984

OSTI ID:6371006

Scheithauer, R A; MacInnis, M B; Miller, M J; Vanderpool, C D

A process is disclosed wherein tungsten is recovered from hazardous waste material containing said tungsten, arsenic, and other impurities which can consist of magnesium, phosphorus, and silicon and the resulting waste is treated to render it nonhazardous according to EPA standards for arsenic. Said process involves digesting said hazardous waste material in an aqueous solution of an alkali metal hydroxide, adjusting the pH of the resulting solution to about 11.0 to about 13.0 with NaOH to precipitate essentially all of the magnesium and silicon species, filtering the digestion mix to remove the solids from said resulting solution which contains about 80 to about 100% of said tungsten and essentially none of said magnesium and said silicon, slurrying the hazardous solids in hot water, and adding to the slurry a ferric salt solution to precipitate ferric hydroxide, filtering this mixture to give a solid which passes the EPA standard test for solids with respect to arsenic.

• Assignee: GTE Products Corporation
• Patent Number(s): US 4454098
• OSTI ID: 6371006
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320305* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Industrial & Agricultural Processes-- Industrial Waste Management
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400105 -- Separation Procedures
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS
ARSENIC
CATALYTIC EFFECTS
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
DISPERSIONS
ELEMENTS
FILTRATION
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXIDES
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
IRON CHLORIDES
IRON COMPOUNDS
MAGNESIUM
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATERIALS RECOVERY
METALS
MIXTURES
NONMETALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHOSPHORUS
PRECIPITATION
PROCESSING
RECOVERY
SAFETY STANDARDS
SEMIMETALS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SILICON
SOLUTIONS
STANDARDS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
TUNGSTEN
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTES