Tungsten carbide recycling is a multi-billion-dollar industry worldwide. Repurposing scrap carbide benefits the recycler, the economy and the planet. The value of reclaimed carbide from industrial waste can result in significant cost savings for manufacturers, MRO facilities and machine shops.

Facts about tungsten carbide

• Tungsten is classified as a rare metal and is a scarce natural resource. It is found in the ores scheelite and wolframite.
• About 85% of the world’s tungsten supply comes from China. In 2013, China produced 68,000 metric tons of tungsten, dwarfing #2 Russia’s 3600 tons. This concentration of global supply makes recycling a smart, sustainable strategy against fluctuations in supply.
• Tungsten is expensive. In 2018, tungsten sold for an average of $30,300 USD per metric ton, or about $13.75 per pound.
• The metalcutting industry accounts for 42% of the total tungsten market (2015).
• Automotive, aerospace and defense segments are the chief consumers of tungsten carbide.
• As time passes, recycled tungsten carbide will become a more critical source of this raw material.
• Recycling tungsten carbide limits the need to mine tungsten from the earth, preserving the mineral supply as well as protecting the environment from mining-related hazards.
• By 2022, the global tungsten carbide market is expected to grow to $3.3 billion.

Types of tungsten carbide waste

Scrap tungsten carbide falls into one of three categories: Hard, soft and powder.

• Hard scrap consists of carbide-tipped drills, inserts, mills, wear parts and mining compacts. That is, solid pieces that contain recoverable amounts of carbide. Hard scrap is further identified as clean (solids) or dirty (containing traces of brazing alloys).
• Soft scrap, or swarf, includes slurries, sludge, filter materials and machine oil wastes containing carbide particles.
• Powders are just that. Waste powder, overspray or dust from machining operations.

The process

A company with scrap carbide to sell typically contracts with a reseller or recycling firm that assays a sample to estimate the predicted carbide yield, makes an offer and hauls off and recycles the scrap. The recycler uses chemical or high-heat processes to recover the carbide from contaminants and other materials, which may be recyclable themselves, in the case of metals.

A number of tests can be used to identify tungsten carbide: Weight (it’s heavy), spark (red-orange on a grinder), magnetic (won’t stick), scratch (test with a carbide fragment), and rust (carbide does not rust).

One example

Companies are recovering significant dollars through carbide recycling. BlackHawk works with customers to derive value from scrap carbide with a carbide-for-credit program. In one case, a customer wanted to buy a high-end presetter but lacked the budget for the expenditure. The company realized it had a sizable amount of scrap carbide on hand, just sitting there. Working with BlackHawk, the customer turned over the scrap to a recycler and received enough in credit dollars to purchase the desired presetter.

BlackHawk can help

To learn more about tungsten carbide recycling, contact your BlackHawk customer service representative.