New Standard for Tungsten Concentrate: Determination of Fluorine and Mercury Content

Recently, two national standards, led by the Provincial Tungsten and Rare Earth Quality Inspection Center, were officially released on January 24, 2025: GB/T 6150.19-2025: Methods for Chemical Analysis of Tungsten Concentrates-Part 19: Determination of Fluorine Content-Ion-Selective Electrode Method and GB/T 6150.20-2025: Methods for Chemical Analysis of Tungsten Concentrates-Part 20: Determination of Mercury Content-Direct Solid Sampling Method. The release of these two new standards not only standardizes the analytical methods for detecting fluorine and mercury content in tungsten concentrates, improving the accuracy and comparability of test results, but also facilitates research on environmental pollution issues during the production and processing of tungsten concentrates. This provides strong support for the implementation of the national ecological and environmental protection strategy.

1. GB/T 6150.19-2025: Methods for Chemical Analysis of Tungsten Concentrates-Part 19: Determination of Fluorine Content-Ion-Selective Electrode Method

This standard specifies the determination of fluorine content in tungsten concentrates using the ion-selective electrode method, with a measurement range of 0.010% to 2.00%. The main technical content includes: method principle; reagents and materials; instruments and equipment; experimental procedures; data processing; and precision requirements.

In the comprehensive analysis of geological samples, the fluorine content is a critical data indicator. Fluorine is one of the harmful elements in the ore smelting process. During smelting, fluorine is converted into hydrogen fluoride (HF), which, when entering furnace gases, severely corrodes smelting equipment. Additionally, the release of hydrogen fluoride gas into the atmosphere poses risks to the environment and human health.

Fluoride poisoning is a multi-organ disease and a chronic condition that seriously threatens human health. The environmental impact of fluorine exceeding certain concentrations is also significant, making fluorine an indicator element in hazardous waste identification standards.

The fluorine content in tungsten concentrate raw materials directly determines the fluorine levels in waste slag. For the surrounding environment of accumulated waste slag, this presents a serious environmental safety hazard. Although fluorine is not an indicator in the tungsten concentrate product standard YS/T 231-2015, its content level undoubtedly affects the market price of tungsten concentrates.

Currently, standards for fluorine content determination in related concentrates include the chemical analysis methods for tin concentrates (GB/T 1819.15-2017), copper concentrates (GB/T 3884.5-2012), and zinc concentrates (GB/T 8151.9-2012). However, there has been no national or industry-standard analytical method for determining fluorine content in tungsten concentrates in China. Therefore, establishing a high-quality, standardized, and unified analytical method for fluorine content in tungsten concentrates is highly necessary. This not only provides analytical data for production experiments and quality assurance for products but also offers data support for environmental monitoring.

2. GB/T 6150.20-2025: Methods for Chemical Analysis of Tungsten Concentrates-Part 20: Determination of Mercury Content-Direct Solid Sampling Method

This standard applies to the determination of mercury content in tungsten concentrates, with a measurement range of 0.010 μg/g to 15.0 μg/g. Principle: In an oxygen atmosphere, the sample is dried and thermally decomposed at high temperature in a decomposition furnace, atomizing the mercury. The mercury vapor is carried by an oxygen flow into a single-wavelength optical absorption cell, where its absorbance (peak height or peak area) is measured at a wavelength of 253.7 nm. The mercury content is calculated using a standard curve method.

Tungsten concentrate is an important strategic resource. Tungsten and its alloys, produced as key industrial raw materials, are widely used in machining, metallurgy, mining, electronics and telecommunications, construction, weaponry, aerospace, and other fields due to their high melting point, high density, and high hardness.

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