From Oct 2022 ! Can we go any slower Bernard ? PUREVAP™ Quartz Reduction Reactor (QRR)
For silicon metal producers, this new competitive edge lies in the PUREVAP™ Quartz Reduction Reactor – a breakthrough technology capable of dramatically shaking up the silicon status quo.
Conventional silicon production relies on dirty smelters and several chemical cleansing steps to achieve the purity levels necessary for industrial applications, including feedstock for polysilicon and silicones and batteries. However, the QRR produces this high-purity silicon in a single step – without pollution from smelters and chemicals. As it is located in Quebec, Canada, the QRR is able to source energy from a grid that relies extensively on clean hydropower.
The QRR uses 25% less feedstock than traditional methods, providing up to a 20% cash cost advantage and reducing the amount of earth metals used. For every ton of silicon metal produced, the QRR requires only 4.5 MT of raw material. This is in stark contrast with conventional processes, which take 6 MT.
Heavy smelters – which fail to achieve the same purity levels as the PUREVAP QRR – use roughly 12,000 kWh of energy during the first cleansing stage. This is nearly the entire energy consumption of the QRR without even factoring in the additional steps needed to make the silicon industry-ready.
The PUREVAP QRR has clear economic advantages over competing silicon metal production techniques and has the means to repatriate the industry back to more ESG-friendly markets. With the potential to displace dirty silicon production while reinvigorating North American industrialisation across blue-collar communities, the QRR represents a truly remarkable technology.
PUREVAP™ optimises silicon metal production efficiencies (innovationnewsnetwork.com)