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The Effect of Calcium Oxide Addition on the Removal of Metal Impurities from Metallurgical-Grade Silicon by Acid Leaching

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Abstract

The removal of metal impurities from metallurgical grade silicon (MG-Si) by acid leaching has been investigated with the addition of CaO. Prior to adding CaO, Fe is the main impurity in the MG-Si sample, and the 2nd-phase precipitates in silicon are Si-Fe-based alloys, such as Si-Fe, Si-Fe-Ti, Si-Fe-Al, Si-Fe-Mn, and Si-Fe-Ni. The phases of Si-Fe and Si-Fe-Ti are not appreciably soluble in HCl. After the introduction of CaO, Ca becomes the dominant impurity, and the 2nd-phase precipitates become Si-Fe-based alloys, such as Si-Ca, Si-Ca-(Fe, Ti, Ni, Al), and Si-Ca-Fe-Al. These are effectively leached with HCl. Therefore, the HCl leaching effect on the removal of metal impurities has been improved. The optimum content of Ca in the MG-Si samples after adding CaO is in the range of 1 pct to 4 pct, the contents of Fe, Al, Ti, and Ni have been decreased to a minimum of less than 5 ppmw (ppm by weight) each, and the acid leaching results do not show a dependence on Ca content at this range.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Physics and Mechanics and Electrics, Xiamen University, Xiamen, P R China

    Falin He (Ph.D. Student) & Chao Chen (Professor)

  2. School of Energy Research, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, P R China

    Songsheng Zheng (Assistant Professor) & Chao Chen (Professor)

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  1. Falin He
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  2. Songsheng Zheng
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  3. Chao Chen
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Correspondence to Chao Chen.

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Manuscript submitted September 26, 2011.

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He, F., Zheng, S. & Chen, C. The Effect of Calcium Oxide Addition on the Removal of Metal Impurities from Metallurgical-Grade Silicon by Acid Leaching. Metall Mater Trans B 43, 1011–1018 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-012-9681-z

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