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Softening and Melting of SiO2, an Important Parameter for Reactions with Quartz in Si Production

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Advances in Molten Slags, Fluxes, and Salts: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Molten Slags, Fluxes and Salts 2016

Abstract

Quartz (SiO2) is the main silicon source for production of metallurgical grade silicon in submerged arc furnaces. During heating in the furnace, quartz will first transform to other SiO2 polymorphs, then soften and melt. Volume changes during heating and melting are expected to affect for the rate of reactions with SiO2 and gas flow. Industrial quartz sources are investigated here with heating rates relevant for industrial furnaces. A method to study softening and melting of quartz at conditions relevant for Si-production was developed. Both volume expansion and melting properties vary considerably between quartz sources. Theoretical volume expansion is 22 % and melting temperature 1726 °C. Volume increase up to 40 %, softening temperatures in the range 1675 °C to 1800 °C, and melting temperatures in the range 1790 °C to 1900 °C were recorded.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. SINTEF Materials and Chemistry, Alfred Getz Vei 2, N-7465, Trondheim, Norway

    Eli Ringdalen

  2. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

    Merete Tangstad

Authors
  1. Eli Ringdalen
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  2. Merete Tangstad
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Alabama, USA

    Ramana G. Reddy (Conference Chair) (Conference Chair)

  2. Global R&D, ArcelorMittal USA, USA

    Pinakin Chaubal (Co-chair) (Co-chair)

  3. Carnegie Mellon University, USA

    P. Chris Pistorius (Co-chair) (Co-chair)

  4. Boston University, USA

    Uday Pal (Co-chair) (Co-chair)

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© 2016 TMS (The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society)

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Ringdalen, E., Tangstad, M. (2016). Softening and Melting of SiO2, an Important Parameter for Reactions with Quartz in Si Production. In: Reddy, R.G., Chaubal, P., Pistorius, P.C., Pal, U. (eds) Advances in Molten Slags, Fluxes, and Salts: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Molten Slags, Fluxes and Salts 2016. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48769-4_4

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