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Thermodynamics of Impurities Removal From Si–Fe Alloy by CaO–Al2O3–SiO2–Na2O Slag Refining

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Abstract

Slag refining of molten Si–Fe alloy was investigated with the ultimate goal of producing silicon suitable for solar cell application. Multiple compositions of quaternary slag of CaO–Al2O3–SiO2–Na2O were used to treat Si-20 wt pct Fe alloy at 1300 °C. Partition ratio of B increased with increasing the slag basicity, and the maximum partition ratio of boron was found to be 4.3. The addition of 10 wt pct Na2O results in higher removal of boron. The modified quasichemical model was utilized to compute the activity of silica at 1300 °C which was then used to calculate the borate and phosphate capacities of the slag. A comparative thermodynamic assessment was conducted by establishing a relationship between corrected optical basicity and borate and phosphate capacities. The evaluation showed that lower temperature is favorable for increasing borate and phosphate capacities in slag at particular basicity.

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Acknowledgments

The present work has been partially supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC, RGPIN-2017-04669).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Golam Ismot Ara Taposhe

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, L8S 4L7, Canada

    Leili Tafaghodi Khajavi

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Correspondence to Golam Ismot Ara Taposhe.

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Taposhe, G.I.A., Khajavi, L.T. Thermodynamics of Impurities Removal From Si–Fe Alloy by CaO–Al2O3–SiO2–Na2O Slag Refining. Metall Mater Trans B 53, 4019–4028 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-022-02662-8

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