Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Thermal Plasma Synthesis of Silicon
-
Yudong Li
Abstract
Experimental and numerical investigations were carried out on synthesis of Si from SiO2 using thermal plasma reactor. Temperature profile and gas flow distribution in the thermal plasma reactor were developed by the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with ANSYS Fluent. The predicted temperatures are in good agreement with the experimentally measured temperatures in the reactor. Experiments were carried out at power 22.5 kw, SiO2 feed rate of 4 g/min, molar ratio of SiO2 to methane varied from 1 to 4:1. Samples from different sections of the reactor are collected and characterized using SEM and XRD. Effect of molar ratio of SiO2 to methane on the yield of Si showed that increase in molar ratio increased the Si yield. Based on the analysis of experimental and numerical results, a mechanism of thermal plasma synthesis of Si from SiO2 is proposed.
Funding statement: Funding: The authors are thankful for the financial support from National Science Foundation (NSF) agency (Grant No. DMR-1310072), American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO) and The University of Alabama during the course of the current research project.
References
1. Lynch D. Winning the global race for solar silicon. JOM 2009;61:41–8.10.1007/s11837-009-0166-8Suche in Google Scholar
2. Jacobson N. Carbothermal reduction of silica in high temperature materials. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Cleveland, OH (United States). Lewis Research Center, 1995.Suche in Google Scholar
3. Tuset JK, Raaness O, editors. Reactivity of reduction materials for the production of silicon, silicon-rich ferroalloys and silicon carbide. Electric Furnace Conference, 1976.Suche in Google Scholar
4. Mexmain J, Morvan D, Bourdin E, Amouroux J, Fauchais P. Thermodynamic study of the ways of preparing silicon, and its application to the preparation of photovoltaic silicon by the plasma technique. Plasma Chem Plasma Proc 1983;3:393–420.10.1007/BF00564627Suche in Google Scholar
5. Myrhaug E, Tuset J, Tveit H, editors. Reaction mechanisms of charcoal and coke in the silicon process. Proceedings: Tenth International Ferroalloys Congress, 2004.Suche in Google Scholar
6. Filsinger DH, Bourrie DB. Silica to silicon: key carbothermic reactions and kinetics. J Am Ceram Soc 1990;73:1726–32.10.1111/j.1151-2916.1990.tb09820.xSuche in Google Scholar
7. Khan ZUP, Khan NA, Askari SJ, Amin I. Design and development of low scale, high temperature, hybrid furnace for the extraction of metallurgical grade silicon from raw mineral quartz. Life Sci J 2013;10:375–83.Suche in Google Scholar
8. Lee H-C, Dhage S, Akhtar MS, Kwak DH, Lee WJ, Kim C-Y, et al. A simulation study on the direct carbothermal reduction of SiO2 for Si metal. Appl Phys 2010;10:S218–S21.10.1016/j.cap.2009.11.053Suche in Google Scholar
9. Nohira T, Yasuda K, Ito Y. Pinpoint and bulk electrochemical reduction of insulating silicon dioxide to silicon. Nat Mater 2003;2: 397–401.10.1038/nmat900Suche in Google Scholar PubMed
10. Özgen C. Reduction of silicon dioxide by electrochemical deoxidation: middle east technical university, 2010.Suche in Google Scholar
11. Loutzenhiser PG, Tuerk O, Steinfeld A. Production of Si by vacuum carbothermal reduction of SiO2 using concentrated solar energy. JOM 2010;62:49–54.10.1007/s11837-010-0137-0Suche in Google Scholar
12. Boulos MI. Thermal plasma processing. IEEE Trans Plasma Sci 1991;19:1078–89.10.1109/27.125032Suche in Google Scholar
13. Tong L, Reddy RG. Synthesis of titanium carbide nano-powders by thermal plasma. Scr Mater 2005;52:1253–8.10.1016/j.scriptamat.2005.02.033Suche in Google Scholar
14. Tong L, Reddy RG. In situ synthesis of TiC-Al (Ti) nanocomposite powders by thermal plasma technology. Metall Mater Trans B 2006;37:531–9.10.1007/s11663-006-0036-5Suche in Google Scholar
15. Tong L, Reddy RG. Thermal plasma synthesis of SiC nano-powders/nano-fibers. Mater Res Bull 2006;41:2303–10.10.1016/j.materresbull.2006.04.021Suche in Google Scholar
16. Reddy RG, Antony LV. Processing of SiC nanopowder using thermal plasma technique, nanotechnology & PM2: scientific challenges & commercial opportunities, metal powder industries federation, Princeton, NJ, 2003:47–54.Suche in Google Scholar
17. Thakkar N, Reddy RG. Thermal plasma production of B4C nanopowders. IJMSP 2006;7:87–100.10.1515/IJMSP.2006.7.2.87Suche in Google Scholar
18. White SW, Reddy RG, Wu B. Plasma Processing of Waste MgO Dust, Light Metal 2000, TMS, 2000: 871–883.Suche in Google Scholar
19. Ramachandran M, Reddy RG. Direct reduction of Magnesium oxide to magnesium using thermal plasma technology. Miner Metall Proc J 2015;32:30–7.10.1007/BF03402355Suche in Google Scholar
20. Ramachandran M, Reddy RG. Production of nanoscale titanium diboride powders. JMSP 2011;11:15–22.10.1515/jmsp.2011.008Suche in Google Scholar
21. Yan L, Yudong L, Ting’an Z, Naixiang F. Research on the penetration depth in aluminum reduction cell with new type of anode and cathode structures. JOM 2014;66:1202–9.10.1007/s11837-014-0981-4Suche in Google Scholar
22. Tong L, Reddy RG. Mathematical Modeling for Processing of Fine Powders by Thermal Plasma, Development in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, SECTAM, 2004:656–668.Suche in Google Scholar
23. Niyomwas S, Wu B, Reddy RG. Synthesis and modeling of Fe-TiN composites by thermal plasma processing, ultrafine grained materials. TMS 2000:89–98.Suche in Google Scholar
24. Niyomwas S, Wu B, Reddy RG. Modeling of materials synthesis in thermal plasma reactor, materials processing in the computer age III. TMS 2000:199–210.Suche in Google Scholar
25. Ramachandran M. Thermal plasma processing of fine grained materials. Ph.D. Dissertation, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA, 2012.Suche in Google Scholar
26. Fluent A. Fluent 14.0 User’s Guide. ANSYS FLUENT Inc, 2011Suche in Google Scholar
27. Gokcen NA, Reddy RG. Thermodynamics, Plenum, New York, NY, 1996:203.10.1007/978-1-4899-1373-9_12Suche in Google Scholar
28. Reddy RG. Emerging technologies in extraction and processing of metals. Metal Mater Trans B 2003;34:137–52.10.1007/s11663-003-0001-5Suche in Google Scholar
29. Cullity B, Stock S. Elements of X-ray diffraction, 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Prentice-Hall, 2001;3:259–63.Suche in Google Scholar
30. Lopatin S, Stolyarova V, Sevast’yanov V, Nosatenko PY, Gorskii V, Sevast’yanov D, et al. Determination of the saturation vapor pressure of silicon by Knudsen cell mass spectrometry. Russ J Inorg Chem 2012;57:219–25.10.1134/S0036023612020167Suche in Google Scholar
©2015 by De Gruyter
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Study of Factors Effecting Surface Roughness and Tool Tip Temperature in Step Turning Using Factorial Technique
- Multi-response Optimization in Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) of Al6061/SiCp Composite Using Hybrid Approach
- Investigations on Mechanical Behaviour of B4C and MoS2 Reinforced AA2024 Hybrid Composites
- Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Thermal Plasma Synthesis of Silicon
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Study of Factors Effecting Surface Roughness and Tool Tip Temperature in Step Turning Using Factorial Technique
- Multi-response Optimization in Wire Electrical Discharge Machining (WEDM) of Al6061/SiCp Composite Using Hybrid Approach
- Investigations on Mechanical Behaviour of B4C and MoS2 Reinforced AA2024 Hybrid Composites
- Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Thermal Plasma Synthesis of Silicon
