Ultrasound-assisted electrodialytic separation of cobalt from tungsten carbide scrap powder

Recycling of tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co) will considerably grow in the future. Thus, efficient and greener methods for the recovery of the critical raw materials, Co and W, will be necessary. In this work, we evaluate the separation of Co from WC using an electrodialytic (ED) process alone and coupled with ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). The WC-Co powder was suspended in different leaching agents, and the effects of UAE amplitude (probe system), pulse periods, and treatment time were evaluated. The Co extraction was mainly dependent on the leaching agent when only UAE was applied, being more efficient under acidic pH. The ED process, alone and coupled to UAE, was then applied using a reactor with two compartments separated by a cation exchange membrane with nitric acid as anolyte; and the effect of DC intensity was tested for Co separation from WC. Between 24 % and 58 % of Co were solubilized when ED was applied alone, but these values increased up to 96 % through the combination with UAE. The ED process was also applied without the use of nitric acid, taking advantage of the acid generated through water electrolysis, aiming for a more environmentally friendly process. The best Co selective recovery was achieved when ED-UAE was used, reaching 99 % of Co solubilization and 90 % of the total Co electromigration to the cathode compartment, leaving behind the WC residue at the anode. The ED-UAE process presents as a greener process for Co separation from WC residues, with further tests needed to include W recovery.