Abstract
At present, expensive semiconductor grade silicon (SEG-Si) is used for the manufacture of cells to convert solar energy into electricity. This results in a high cost for photovoltaic electricity compared to electricity derived from conventional sources. The processing of inexpensive metallurgical silicon, or ferrosilicon alloys, is a potentially economical refining route to produce photovoltaic silicon. With phosphorus being one of the most difficult impurities to remove by conventional techniques, this project investigated the use of electromagnetic levitation for dephosphorization of silicon–iron alloy droplets exposed to hydrogen–argon gas mixtures. The effects of time, temperature, hydrogen partial pressure, iron content in the alloy, and initial phosphorus concentration were evaluated.
References
Monroe, J., & Wickander, R. (2006). Essentials of geology (4th ed.). Belmont, USA: The Thomson Corp.
Lynch, D. (2009). Winning the global race for solar silicon. JOM Journal of the Minerals Metals and Materials Society, 61, 41–48.
The International Renewable Energy Agency. (2013). Solar technology brief.
Johnston, M., Khajavi, L., Li, M., Sokhanvaran, S., & Barati, M. (2012). High-temperature refining of metallurgical-grade silicon: A review. JOM Journal of the Minerals Metals and Materials Society, 64, 935–944.
Ueda, S., Morita, K., & Sano, N. (1997). Thermodynamics of phosphorus in molten Si-Fe and Si-Mn alloys. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B, 28B, 1151–1155.
Hino, M., & Ito, K. (2010). Thermodynamic data for steelmaking. Sendai, Japan: Tohoku University Press.
Hectors, D., Van Reusel, K., & Diesen, J. (2008). Experimental validation of electromagnectic-thermal coupled modelling of levitation melting. Przeglad Elektrotechniczny, 84, 140–143.
Asakuma, Y., Sakai, Y., Hahn, S., Tsukada, T., Matsumoto, T., Fujii, H., et al. (2000). Equilibrium shape of a molten silicon drop in an electromagnetic levitator in microgravity environment. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B, 31, 327–329.
Popa, M. (2010). Study of an electromagnetic levitation system. Nonconventional Technologies Review, 1, 34–38.
Wu, P., Yang, Y., Barati, M., & McLean, A. (2014). Electromagnetic levitation of silicon and silicon-iron alloy droplets. High Temperature Materials and Processes, 33(1), 1–7.
Wei, K. X., Ma, W. H., Dai, Y. N., Yang, B., Liu, D. C., & Wang, J. F. (2007). Vacuum distillation refining of metallurgical grade silicon (I)—Thermodynamics on removal of phosphorus from metallurgical grade silicon. Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China, 17, 1022–1025.
Khajavi, L. T., & Barati, M. (2012). Thermodynamics of phosphorus removal from silicon in solvent refining of silicon. High Temperature Material Process, 31, 627–631.
Acknowledgements
Appreciation is expressed to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for providing funding for this project through a Strategic Research Grant.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
About this paper
Cite this paper
Le, K., Yang, Y., Barati, M., McLean, A. (2017). Electromagnetic Levitation Refining of Silicon–Iron Alloys for Generation of Solar Grade Silicon. In: Meyers, M., et al. Proceedings of the 3rd Pan American Materials Congress. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52132-9_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52132-9_13
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-52131-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-52132-9
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials ScienceChemistry and Material Science (R0)