Patent ID: 7118635

Claim:
A process for preparing tungsten carbide consisting of: (a) carburizing a material selected from the group consisting of tungsten powder, tungsten precursor compound powder and combinations thereof, at a temperature ranging from 850° to 950°, and in the presence of a carburizing gas phase, said carburizing gas phase comprising a mixture of CO and CO 2 , said carburizing gas phase having a CO 2 content which is above the Boudouard equilibrium content corresponding to the carburization temperature, and wherein the carburizing step is carried out with a carbon activity ranging from 0.4 to less than 1; and (b) heat treating the tungsten carbide formed in step (a) at a temperature ranging from 1,150° C. to 1,800° C., and at a carburizing atmosphere sufficient for the carbon content of the tungsten carbide to approach the theoretical, thereby forming tungsten carbide.