Abstract: Molybdenum is recovered from an organic material, such as a spent epoxidation catalyst, by heating the material in a stream of non-oxidizing gas at a temperature of at least about 400.degree. C. to evolve the organic in the gas stream from which it is recovered and to leave a powdery residue containing essentially all of the molybdenum.

Abstract: A continuous process for producing a substantially dense pelletized metallic molybdenum product from an agglomerated molybdenum trioxide containing feed material in which the feed material is continuously charged at a controlled rate into a reactor formed with a first reaction maintained at a controlled first temperature and containing a first hydrogen-containing atmosphere having a controlled composition for effecting the exothermic reduction of molybdenum trioxide to molybdenum dioxide, whereafter the partially reduced pelletized feed is transferred at a controlled rate into a second reaction zone at a controlled higher temperature and incorporating a second hydrogen-containing atmosphere of a controlled different composition to effect an endothermic reduction of substantially all of the molybdenum dioxide to metallic molybdenum, which upon subsequent cooling is recovered as a pelletized product suitable for use in steelmaking, other metal alloy production, melting, chemical reaction operations and the like