| Abstract Scope |
The constant growth of photovoltaic industry needs more silicon feedstock and also generates a large amount of wafer cutting slurry. In this study, an approach to reuse kerf loss silicon from cutting slurry waste to smelting ferrochrome alloy is suggested. In the previous study, it is found that silicon and silicon carbide can be used as reductants of chromite ore. Based on mass balance calculations, the mixing ratio of raw materials including ore, reductants, and flux, were determined. For the comparison, conventional carbon reductants are also used for the pilot scale experiments. Feed materials were reacted in the direct current arc furnace to produce ferrochrome alloy. After pilot scale experiments, the inner structure of reacted area was analyzed and energy consumption and yield were compared. Finally, it is concluded that silicon wafer kerf loss can be useful for production of ferrochrome with low energy consumption. |