Recyling and refining of molybdenum scraps by vacuum arc melting

We carried out to investigate the refining effect of molybdenum by Ar-H vacuum arc melting(VAM) process for recycling Mo scrap. The purity of the Mo metals refined by VAM was evaluated using glow discharge mass spectromety(GDMS). From the result of GDMS, most impurities in the Mo metals except for W were removed by Ar-H VAM down to a few mass ppm levels. The purity of the refined molybdenum scrap was improved up to 4N5(99.995%) from 3N(99.95%) of the initial Mo scrap. The amount of gaseous impurities such as C, N, and O in Mo scrap were decreased from 1290 ppm to 132 ppm. As a result, it is considered that a possibility of refining and cost-effective method for recycling Mo scrap by Ar-H vacuum arc melting process was confirmed in this study.