Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 March 2011
High-purity tungsten was prepared by the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) process from a mixture of WO3 and Mg. The MgO in the product was leached with an HCl solution. The complete reduction of WO3 required a 33% excess of magnesium over the stoichiometric molar ratio Mg/WO3 of 3. The product tungsten had a purity of 99.980% which was higher than that of the reactant WO3. This is because the impurities were either volatilized at the high temperatures generated during the rapid exothermic reaction or dissolved into the HCl solution during leaching.