Experimental study demonstrates molten silicon production in oxide-carbide powder mixtures via microwave heating, suggesting an energy-efficient furnace design.
Mixed powder of SiO2 and SiC was heated to produce Si in air by irradiating multi-mode microwave at 2.45 GHz using a porous alumina crucible of sintered cement. SiC generated heat inside the mixture. Mullite layer was produced inside of crucible wall. Molten Si was produced at the apparent temperature between 1550°C and 1600°C during 5400s and 6000s. The apparent temperature was much lower than 1778°C determined thermodynamically. This is the characteristics of microwave that heat generates at the contact points of particles and the pointed parts of the surface in powder. A furnace for producing high-quality Si by microwave heating is proposed.
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Nagata et al. (2024) studied this question.
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