Effect of carbon material composition on the energy consumption in 22.5 MVA silicon furnace

Abstract

The influence of various process parameters during silicon production in a 22.5 MVA submerged arc furnace (SAF) was studied to achieve energy-saving effects. This paper analyzed how the main impurities (Fe₂O₃, Al₂O₃, CaO) in the main components (fixed carbon, ash, volatile matter, and moisture) of the raw materials used during industrial silicon smelting affected the process using correlation coefficients and contour maps. The results showed that the effect of the main components of the raw materials in a large-capacity furnace was fixed carbon > volatile content > moisture. The effects were significantly reduced compared with a 12.5 MVA. Under the same fixed carbon ratio, coal was more conducive to silicon production than petroleum coke, and the large-capacity furnace had a higher effective utilization rate of raw materials. The falls into order of the influence of metal oxide content on power consumption was Fe₂O₃ >Al₂O₃ >CaO.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Power consumption
• submerged arc furnace
• industrial silicon production
• energy saving

Additional information

Funding

The authors are grateful for financial support from the Ten Thousand Talent Plans for Young Top-Notch Talents of Yunnan Province (No. YNWR-QNBJ-2020-022) and the Major R&D Project of Yunnan of China (2019ZE00701).