Method for crushing hard tungsten carbide scraps

A method for recovering tungsten and cobalt from hard tungsten carbide (WC) scrap comprising:

• (a) a step of mixing hard tungsten carbide (WC) scraps with aluminum particles;
• (b) a step of forming an intermetallic compound, metal oxides, or mixtures thereof in a sponge form by heating the mixture obtained from step (a) to 1200 □ to 1400 □ and maintaining the mixture for 30 to 120 minutes;
• (c) a step of crushing a product of step (b);
• (d) an alkaline leaching step of leaching a product of step (c) with an alkaline solution;
• (e) a primary solid-liquid separation step of separating a product of step (d) into sludge and a solution in which aluminum is dissolved;
• (f) an acid leaching step of mixing the sludge of step (e) with an acid solution;
• and
• (g) a secondary solid-liquid separation step of separating a product of step (f) into sludge and a solution in which cobalt is dissolved.