Abstract: A method is disclosed for separating cobalt from nickel which consists essentially of adjusting the pH of a cobalt chloride solution containing nickel to about 3 to about 5 with a base, adding hypochlorite to the resulting pH adjusted solution in an amount equal to at least the stoichiometric amount required to oxidize essentially all of the cobalt to the .sup.+3 state, while maintaining the pH at about 3 to about 5 by addition of a base, to form a solid containing at least about 60% by weight of the cobalt in the .sup.+3 state and a liquor containing essentially all of the nickel, and removing the solid from the liquor.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for recovering cobalt, which comprises adding ammonia to a cobalt chloride solution to a pH of from about 8.8 to about 9.6 with oxidation, to form hexammine cobalt (III) chloride, adding to the resulting solution of hexammine cobalt (III) chloride, sodium chloride in an amount sufficient to result in the precipitation of at least about 98% by weight of the cobalt as cobalt hexammine (III) chloride at a temperature of no greater than about 40.degree. C., separating the precipitate of cobalt hexammine (III) chloride from the resulting mother liquor which contains the balance of the cobalt, adding to the mother liquor, aluminum powder in an amount sufficient to result in the precipitation of the balance of the cobalt as cobalt metal, and separating the cobalt metal from the resulting spent liquor.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for recovering tungsten from tungsten bearing material containing arsenic. The process involves adjusting a water slurry of the material to a pH of less than about 4 with an acid to solubilize the major portion of the tungsten, adding an insoluble ferric compound to the slurry to form a two phase system in which the solid phase contains the major portion of the arsenic and of any phosphorus which may be present, and a solution phase containing the major portion of the tungsten. After separation of the solid from the solution, the solution is adjusted to a pH of less than about 2 with an acid and a suffficient amount of hexamethylenetetramine is added to the solution to precipitate the major portion of the tungsten, followed by separating the precipitate from the resulting liquor. The solid phase containing the arsenic and phosphorus, if any, can be contacted with water and a soluble ferric salt to produce a treated solid which passes the EP toxicity test.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for producing pure cobalt metal powder. The process involves contacting a cobaltous salt with a sufficient amount of an alkaline earth halide in an aqueous solution at a sufficient temperature for a sufficient time to form a solution which is essentially cobaltous halide and a solid which consists essentially of a salt of the alkaline earth and the anion of the cobaltous salt. The cobaltous halide solution is removed from the solid and the ions in the solution are complexed with ammonia in the presence of a catalyst to form a cobaltic hexammine ion. The resulting solution is treated with an acid in the presence of halide ions to form a cobaltic hexammine halide precipitate which is removed from the resulting mother liquor and dissolved in an aqueous solution to form a relatively pure solution which is treated with a sufficient amount of a metallic hydroxide to form a cobalt containing precipitate which is reduced to cobalt metal.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for recovering tungsten from a relatively dilute ammoniacal tungsten solution. The method involves adding hexamethylenetetramine to the tungsten solution in an amount sufficient to form a hexamethylenetetramine complex then adjusting the pH to from about 1.0 to about 2.0 with a mineral acid to form a precipitate of the complex containing at least about 99% of the tungsten, and separating the precipitate from the resulting mother liquor.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for producing ammonium paratungstate which involves adding hexamethylenetetramine to a first solution of ammonium tungstate, adjusting the pH to about 2 with an acid to form a precipitate which contains the major portion of the tungsten and the hexamethylenetetramine and separating the precipitate from the resulting mother liquor. The tungsten hexamethylenetetramine precipitate is then dissolved in aqueous ammonia to form a second ammonium tungstate solution which is then heated at from about 90.degree. C. to about 100.degree. C. to form a precipitate essentially all of which is ammonium paratungstate and a mother liquor which contains essentially all of the hexamethylenetetramine. The ammonium paratungstate precipitate is then separated from the mother liquor.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for producing relatively pure ammonium paratungstate from an impure tungsten solution. The method involves first adding hexamethylenetetramine to the tungsten solution and adjusting the pH to from about 1.0 to about 2.0 with a mineral acid to form a first precipitate of a tungsten hexamethylenetetramine product, which is then separated from its mother liquor. The precipitate is then slurried in water and the pH adjusted to from about 7.0 to about 8.5 with ammonia to dissolve the precipitate. The resulting solution is then adjusted to from about 1.0 to about 2.0 with a mineral acid to form a second precipitate of the tungsten hexamethylenetetramine product which is then separated from its mother liquor. The second precipitate is then slurried in a solution of water and sufficient ammonia to form ammonium paratungstate which crystallizes out on evaporation of the slurry. The ammonium paratungstate is then separated from its mother liquor.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for producing pure cobalt metal powder. The method involves reducing a cobalt containing source material to produce an intermediate cobalt metal, contacting this intermediate with an ammoniacal ammonium halide solution and a catalyst with oxidation to form a solution of hexamminecobalt(III) ions, removing insoluble material, and adding a sufficient amount of a halide salt to the solution to precipitate hexamminecobalt(III) halide which is separated from the mother liquor. The hexamminecobalt(III) halide precipitate is dissolved in water and the pH is adjusted to greater than about 10 with a base, while the solution is heated at a sufficient temperature for a sufficient time to form an insoluble cobalt oxide containing material which is separated from its mother liquor and reduced to pure cobalt metal powder.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for recovering cobalt from an alloy containing other metals as chromium, tungsten, etc. The process involves first adding the alloy to fused sodium hydroxide at a temperature of from about 750.degree. C. to about 1000.degree. C. to form a reaction mixture, the amount of sodium hydroxide being sufficient to subsequently form sodium salts which are essentially those of chromium and tungsten and hydroxides which are essentially those of cobalt and nickel. The reaction mixture is then heated at a sufficient temperature for a sufficient time while introducing an oxidizing gas into the reaction mixture to form a melt which consists essentially of the sodium salts and the hydroxides, followed by cooling the melt. The cooled melt is then contacted with sufficient water to form a solution containing the major portion of the sodium salts and a solid containing the major portion of the hydroxides, followed by separating the solid from the solution.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for recovering cobalt and chromium from a cobalt and chromium containing alloy. The process involves first digesting the alloy in concentrated hydrochloric acid at a sufficient temperature for a sufficient time to form a first solution containing the major portion of the cobalt, chromium, and any iron and nickel present in the alloy and a first solid and separating the first solution from the first solid. Oxalic acid is then added to the first solution in an amount sufficient to subsequently precipitate the major portion of the cobalt and any iron and nickel contained in the first solution followed by adjustment of the ph to from about 1 to about 2 with a base and maintaining the temperature below about 20.degree.

Abstract: A process is disclosed for recovering cobalt in a relatively pure form from an impure cobalt bearing material. The process involves digesting the material in hydrochloric acid to form a solution essentially all of the cobalt and some impurities and insoluble material containing the remainder of the impurities, separating the solution from the insolubles, adding an oxalate producing compound in an amount sufficient to subsequently convert essentially all of the cobalt to cobalt oxalate to the solution, adjusting the pH of the oxalate treated solution to from about 1.5 to about 2.0 with a base to precipitate the cobalt, and finally separating the precipitate from the resulting mother liquor.

Abstract: A method is disclosed for removing tin from aqueous sodium tungstate solutions. The method involves adding ammonia to the sodium tungstate solution, adjusting the pH to above about 9.5 with an acid, adding magnesium chloride to form insoluble material containing the major portion of the tin, silicon, arsenic and phosphorus and a resulting sodium tungstate solution containing the major portion of the tungsten, and separating the insoluble material from the resulting solution.

Abstract: A process is disclosed wherein tungsten is recovered from hazardous waste material containing said tungsten, arsenic, and other impurities which can consist of magnesium, phosphorus, and silicon and the resulting waste is treated to render it nonhazardous according to EPA standards for arsenic. Said process involves digesting said hazardous waste material in an aqueous solution of an alkali metal hydroxide, adjusting the pH of the resulting solution to about 11.0 to about 13.0 with NaOH to precipitate essentially all of the magnesium and silicon species, filtering the digestion mix to remove the solids from said resulting solution which contains about 80 to about 100% of said tungsten and essentially none of said magnesium and said silicon, slurrying the hazardous solids in hot water, and adding to the slurry a ferric salt solution to precipitate ferric hydroxide, filtering this mixture to give a solid which passes the EPA standard test for solids with respect to arsenic.

Abstract: In a process for producing fine size cobalt metal powder from scrap material containing brazing compositions, the silver ions are removed by cementation with iron to form an insoluble mixture which is subsequently treated with concentrated hydrochloric acid to solubilize the silver which is then precipitated as silver chloride.

Abstract: In a process for producing pure ammonium paratungstate from ammonium tungstate solutions containing tin, sulfide is added to the ammonium tungstate solution in an amount sufficient to form a soluble complex of the sulfide with the tin. The solution is then evaporated to a volume at which essentially all of the tungsten is in the form of insoluble ammonium paratungstate and essentially all of the tin is in the mother liquor in the form of a soluble complex along with other impurities. The solid ammonium paratungstate is then separated from the mother liquor by filtration.

Abstract: In a process for recovering refractory metal values from a refractory metal carbide cemented with a metal binder. The coated cemented carbide is treated with sulfuric acid to deteriorate the coating.

Abstract: Fine metal powder is produced from a wet cobaltic hydroxide precipitate by contacting the precipitate with steam to convert the precipitate to a cobaltous oxide and reducing the cobaltous oxide to produce a fine cobalt metal powder.

Abstract: In a process for producing fine cobalt metal powder from scrap material containing brazing compositions, the scrap is digested with hydrochloric acid to form a cobalt chloride solution which the silver is removed by precipitation with a suitable alkali metal halide at a pH of about 7 to result in a cobalt amine chloride solution which is further processed to fine cobalt powder.

Abstract: In a process for producing fine size cobalt metal powder from scrap material containing brazing compositions, the scrap is digested with hydrochloric acid to produce an aqueous cobalt acid chloride solution containing copper and silver ions which ions are removed by cementation with iron to result in a cobalt chloride solution which is processed to fine cobalt metal powder.

Abstract: Fine particle size cobalt metal powder is prepared absent tailings by heating an aqueous solution of soluble cobaltic ammine halide to a temperature of at least about 120 degrees centigrade for a sufficient period of time to decompose said cobaltic ammine halide and form a cobalt containing precipitate. The precipitate is separated from the solution and reduced in a reducing atmosphere to produce fine metal cobalt powder.