Definition of silicon metal and industrial silicon:
Both silicon metal and industrial silicon are silicon products. The difference is that silicon metal is mainly used in the metallurgical industry, while industrial silicon is mainly used in the semiconductor and other electronic industries. silicon metal includes polycrystalline ferrosilicon and ferrosilicon, which are one of the important raw materials used as reducing agents in the metallurgical ironmaking process.
Industrial silicon is high-purity silicon extracted from silica by chemical methods, and is an important raw material for semiconductor materials.
Differences in production processes:
The production processes of silicon metal and industrial silicon are also different. silicon metal is mainly produced by high-temperature reduction. In an electric furnace, silica and coke are mixed and heated to a high temperature, so that the silicon oxide therein is reduced to ferrosilicon, and then cooling, crushing, inspection and packaging are carried out.
Industrial silicon is usually produced by gas phase oxidation, using hydrogen and silane to react to generate gas phase silane, and then through gas phase deposition and gas phase extraction steps to obtain high-purity silicon.
Differences in production costs:
The production costs of silicon metal and industrial silicon are also different. Because the main use of silicon metal is in the metallurgical field, it accounts for a relatively small proportion of the cost of steelmaking;
while the main use of industrial silicon is electronic materials, and the purity and processing precision requirements of raw materials are relatively high, resulting in relatively high production costs.
Differences in uses:
The uses of silicon metal and industrial silicon are different. silicon metal is mainly used in the metallurgical industry and can be used as a reducing agent, additive, etc. Processed silicon metal can also be used to prepare materials such as polysilicon.
Industrial silicon is mainly used in the production of semiconductor materials, and can be used to manufacture high-purity silicon wafers, photovoltaic panels, solar cells, LEDs and other electronic components.
