Effect of Carbonaceous Reducers on Carbon Emission during Silicon Production in SAF of 8.5 MVA and 12.5 MVA

The silicon manufacturing process produces a large amount of carbon emissions, which is of deep concern to the Chinese government. Previous research has calculated the amount of carbon emissions incurred in silicon production, while research on the factors that affect carbon emissions during the silicon production process has been scarce. The effect of the carbonaceous reducers' consumption on the carbon emission during silicon production was investigated using statistical analysis of the actual production data in order to lower the carbon emissions of silicon production. The effect of different type furnaces (8.5MVA and 12.5MVA) on the carbon emission were also investigated in the study. Based on the results, the soft coal has the greatest impact on carbon emissions when using the 8.5MVA submerged arc furnace. When using the 12.5MVA furnace, petroleum coke has the greatest impact on carbon emission. The use of the 12.5MVA furnace reduces the carbon dioxide emissions of the production of one ton of silicon by approximately 74 kg compared to the 8.5MVA furnace. To obtained reduced carbon emissions in silicon production, we suggest that the silicon manufacturers should (1) use the 12.5MVA submerged arc furnace as much as possible; (2) and optimize the ratio of carbonaceous reducing agents in raw materials for the different furnace types.