Recycling of tungsten: Current share, economic limitations, technologies and future potential

Abstract

Recycling is an essential part of the global tungsten flow. A wide variety of recycling technologies for tungsten exists today. Processes are tailored to deal with different scrap types and to produce well-defined recycling products. The paper presents the current share of recycling in the global tungsten flow and elaborates on the economy of recycling. The available recycling technologies and their industrial relevance is summarized. Based on the tungsten end-use pattern and the associated tungsten products, the future potential of tungsten recycling is discussed.