Tungsten is a metal known for its unique properties – which is why it is used in a wide variety of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Tungsten’s properties make it highly coveted and widely used, making it more difficult to find the substance naturally. Statistics have demonstrated that over time, tungsten scrap has become one of the global tungsten industry’s main resources for the metal. With this in mind it is important for us to re-assess the ways in which we extract tungsten where it is naturally occurring, and the ways in which we can optimize current recycling methods to accommodate this growing demand. Regardless, the single-most effective way to ensuring the longevity of this metals is through recycling tungsten scrap.

Today we’ll briefly discuss the critical applications of tungsten, and the importance of recycling tungsten:

Critical Properties and Applications of Tungsten

Tungsten is a metal that offers a range of unique properties applicable to a wide variety of applications.

 Properties of Tungsten:

• Heavier compared to most metals
• Highest melting point of any element (except carbon)
• Functional mechanical properties at high temperatures
• Lowest expansion co-efficient compared to all metals
• Excellent compression and elasticity ability
• Excellent thermal creep resistance
• Excellent thermal and electrical conductivity
• Excellent coefficient for electron emission

Applications of Tungsten

• The primary application of tungsten is its use in cemented carbide or “hard metals”. Hard metals are used as cutting tools and are used in the construction, metalworking, mining, and oil drilling industries.
• Tungsten alloys or pure tungsten are used as wires or metal contacts in electronic, electrical, heating, lighting, and welding applications i.e. the filament in lightbulbs
• Tungsten is also utilized to manufacture heavy-metal alloys or super-alloys for armaments, heat sinks, radiation, and shielding
• Tungsten chemicals are used in the chemical industry to manufacture catalysts, corrosion-resistant coatings, dyes, pigments, water-resistant alloys and coatings.

The Importance of Recycling Tungsten

Driven by Demand

As mentioned above, most of where the global industry extracts tungsten from is from recycled tungsten or scrap tungsten. The importance of recycling tungsten is paramount to the growing demand for this metal’s many applications and uses due to its unique properties.

Reduce Environmental Impact

Recycling scrap tungsten serves to reduce environmental impact. The global tungsten industry extracts most of its materials from scrap. Recycling your tungsten would feed into this recycling process – ultimately serving to delineate demand for extracting from naturally-occurring instances of tungsten, to utilizing recycled tungsten resources instead. The environmental impact of extracting through mining processes offer more harmful environmental impact than opting for recyclable options.

Alnor Industries is Your Go-To for Recycling Tungsten

The highly experienced team at Alnor Industries is capable of recycling your tungsten scrap for cash-value. If you happen to have a surplus of scrap tungsten, instead of simply throwing it out – opt to recycle it with Alnor Industries. Alnor organizes pick-ups, and is fully equipped with the resources necessary to ensure your scrap is recycled efficiently and effectively every time.