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Recovery of Tungsten and Molybdenum from Low-Grade Scheelite

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Abstract

With most high-quality tungsten ores being exhausted, the enhancement of low-grade scheelite concentrates processing has attracted a great deal of attention. The objective of this study is to develop a method to maximize the recovery tungsten and molybdenum from a low-grade scheelite via a new acid leaching process followed by solvent extraction. Under optimal conditions (350 g/L H2SO4, 95°C, and 2 h), approximately 99.8% of tungsten and 98% of molybdenum were leached out. In the subsequent solvent extraction process, more than 99% of the tungsten and molybdenum were extracted with a co-extraction system (50% TBP, 30% HDEHP, and 10% 2-octanol in kerosene) using a three-stage cross-flow extraction. The raffinate can be recycled for the next leaching process after replenishing the H2SO4 to the initial value (approximately 350 g/L). Based on these results, a conceptual flowsheet is presented to recover tungsten and molybdenum from the low-grade scheelite.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express sincere thanks to the NSFC (Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 51334008) for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, People’s Republic of China

    Yongli Li, Jinhong Yang & Zhongwei Zhao

  2. Key Laboratory of Hunan Province for Metallurgy and Material Processing of Rare Metals, Changsha, 410083, People’s Republic of China

    Zhongwei Zhao

Authors
  1. Yongli Li
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  2. Jinhong Yang
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  3. Zhongwei Zhao
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Correspondence to Zhongwei Zhao.

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Li, Y., Yang, J. & Zhao, Z. Recovery of Tungsten and Molybdenum from Low-Grade Scheelite. JOM 69, 1958–1962 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-017-2440-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-017-2440-5

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