Learn about silicon metal and ferro silicon from the production process

Many people are confused about metal silicon and ferrosilicon. In fact, ferrosilicon is a form of metallic silicon. Ferrosilicon is obtained by smelting metal silicon and iron. In order to solve this confusion for everyone, here we will focus on the two from the production process.

Ferro silicon

Silicon metal

Ferro silicon manufacturing process

An alloy of iron and silicon is produced by reduction smelting using a submerged arc furnace. The silica-rich ore and the carbon source such as coking coal (metallurgical coal) are crushed and charged into the furnace together with the scrap iron.

At temperatures above 1900 ° C (3450 ° F), carbon reacts with the oxygen present in the ore to form carbon monoxide gas. At the same time, the remaining iron and silicon are combined to form molten ferrosilicon. It can be collected by tapping the bottom of the furnace.

Once cooled and hardened, ferrosilicon can be transported and used directly in steel manufacturing.

Silicon metal production process

Above we talked about the production method of ferrosilicon. Using the same method, but without adding iron content, metallurgical grade silicon with a purity greater than 99% can be obtained. According to the composition of impurities such as iron, aluminum and calcium, there are various grades such as 553 and 441. Specifications of silicon metal>>

Generally, metallurgical grade metal silicon is mostly used in silicon aluminum alloys.Reliable silicon metal factory recommended>>

Is there any difference between metallic silicon and ferrosilicon from the above description? Silicon is an element. In fact, nearly 30% of the weight of the earth's crust can be attributed to silicon. Both ferrosilicon and silicon metal will play an important role.