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Silicon for the Chemical and Solar Industry XIII
Kristiansand, Norway, June 13 – 16, 2016
Operational Aspects of the Metallurgical Silicon Process
Birger Andresen
FESIL RANA Metall AS,Vikelvfaret 4, N-7054 Ranheim, Norway
Abstract
The carbothermic metallurgical silicon process is briefly described and selected
operational aspects are discussed.
Process overview and furnace equipment
Silicon is produced in a carbothermic process in submerged arc furnaces with three
alternate current electrodes as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1
: A typical modern plant for production of silicon including the most important raw
materials, off-gas handling and post tap hole treatment as illustrated by Schei, Tuset & Tveit
[1]. The refining step is optional. Solidification may be done in several different ways,
including water granulation.
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