About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2027 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Rare Metal Extraction & Processing
|
| Presentation Title |
Secondary Production of Tantalum from Additive Manufacturing Swarf |
| Author(s) |
Sarah Fenton, Rachel Harris, Richard Bradshaw, Gwendolyn Bracker, Robert W. Hyers |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Sarah Fenton |
| Abstract Scope |
Tantalum has exceptional corrosion resistance, high ductility and electrical conductivity, and maintains its performance at elevated temperatures. Tantalum is a critical mineral for both the US and the EU due to its vulnerable supply chain and the performance loss that occurs from substitutions. [SF1.1]Secondary sources of tantalum are mainly comprised of impurity-free, pre-consumer scrap that is internally recycled by the manufacturer.
Tantalum’s high melting temperature has encouraged its application in emerging solid-state additive manufacturing techniques such as cold spray. Tantalum powder has been successfully cold-sprayed for both coatings and independent components. Machining cold-sprayed products creates swarf, grindings, turnings, and similar waste that contains oil, lubricants, soaps, alumina, brass, sulfur, and other impurities and contaminants. Swarf will be characterized and used to evaluate the feasibility of potential recycling processes to produce commercially pure tantalum. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Recycling and Secondary Recovery, Additive Manufacturing, Hydrometallurgy |