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Wolframite Conversion in Treating a Mixed Wolframite–Scheelite Concentrate by Sulfuric Acid

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Abstract

Complete wolframite conversion in sulfuric acid is significant for expanding the applicability of the sulfuric acid method for producing ammonium paratungstate. In this paper, the conversion of wolframite in treating a mixed wolframite–scheelite concentrate by sulfuric acid was studied systematically. The results show that the conversion of wolframite in sulfuric acid is more difficult than that of scheelite, requiring rigorous reaction conditions. A solid H2WO4 layer forms on the surfaces of the wolframite particles and becomes denser with increasing H2SO4 concentration, thus hindering the conversion. Furthermore, the difficulty in wolframite conversion can be mainly attributed to the accumulation of Fe2+ (and/or Mn2+) in the H2SO4 solution, which can be solved by reducing Fe2+ (and/or Mn2+) concentration through oxidization and/or a two-stage process. Additionally, the solid converted product of the mixed wolframite–scheelite concentrate has an excellent leachability of tungsten in an aqueous ammonium carbonate solution at ambient temperature, with approximately 99% WO3 recovery. This work presents a route for manufacturing ammonium paratungstate by treating the mixed concentrate in sulfuric acid followed by leaching in ammonium carbonate solution.

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Acknowledgements

This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51274243).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China

    Leiting Shen, Xiaobin Li, Qiusheng Zhou, Zhihong Peng, Guihua Liu & Tiangui Qi

  2. School of Chemical Engineering, Metallurgical Thermodynamics and Modeling Research Group, Aalto University, 02150, Espoo, Finland

    Leiting Shen & Pekka Taskinen

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  1. Leiting Shen
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  2. Xiaobin Li
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  3. Qiusheng Zhou
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  4. Zhihong Peng
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  5. Guihua Liu
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Correspondence to Xiaobin Li.

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Shen, L., Li, X., Zhou, Q. et al. Wolframite Conversion in Treating a Mixed Wolframite–Scheelite Concentrate by Sulfuric Acid. JOM 70, 161–167 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-017-2691-1

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