The improvement of rhenium recovery technology from W-Re alloys

Abstract

The lack of rhenium raw materials sources on the territory of Russia leads to the necessity of this valuable metal recovery from wastes and secondary raw materials, in particular, from tungsten-rhenium alloys. The using of hydrometallurgical and electrochemical technologies is the most promising way to dissolve and recovery these metals in the form of prospective precursors. It is considered, that the fundamentals of an improved technology of rhenium recovery in the form of perrhenic acid from binary W-Re alloys. It is shown the desirability of avoiding the precipitation of metal in the form of potassium perrhenate. A basic technological scheme of the Re recovery process is proposed. It includes anodic dissolution of W-Re alloys, precipitation of calcium tungstate from the electrolyte and electrodialysis of rhenium in the form of perrhenic acid.