Design of a scheelite production pilot plant for the treatment of spent electroless nickel plating solutions in Field Service Solution S.A.S.: an alternative source for tungsten recycling

Abstract

In this contribution, the design considerations to assemble a pilot-plant for tungsten recovery and further conversion into synthetic scheelite as raw material, as an eco-friendly improvement for the current electroless nickel process in Field Service Solution (FES) S. A. S., are presented. This low-cost methodology scale-up aims to provide an alternative treatment for spent electroless nickel solutions (Ni-P-W) as a secondary tungsten source. The plant is projected to treat up to 750 L of industrial waste per week, achieving a maximum scheelite production of 9.1 kg per week. This prototype serves as a model of eco-sustainability in the nickel-plating industry by controlling the disposal of heavy metals and by facilitating the production of other tungsten derivatives and their feasible reuse in the process.

Keywords

• tungsten recycling
• spent solutions
• electroless nickel
• scheelite