Optical and spectroscopic characterizations of Algerian silica raw material to predict high quality solar-grade silicon

Kheloufi, A.; Bobocioiu, Ema; Kerkar, F.; Kefaifi, A.; Anas, S.; Medjahed, Sidali; Belkacem, Y.; Keffous, A.

doi:10.1016/j.optmat.2016.09.063

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…The Raman analyses are realized in the Laboratory of Geology of Lyon (ENS) using a Jobin-Yvon Horiba LabRam HR800 VIS spectrometer, equipped with focal microscope and CCD detector. Wavelengths at 514 and 532 nm and objective lenses of 50× are also used [1,26]. In order to detect very low concentrations of minor elements present in the silica, secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is used.…”

Section: Fig 1 Is Herementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The growth of photovoltaic (PV) industry is mainly based on silicon solar cells and reducing the cost of silicon wafers [1]. Due to the advantages of low production cost and relatively high conversion efficiency, multicrystalline silicon has become the main material used for PV.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…High level purity silica is a strategic mineral with a large wide of applications in high-tech industry that include semiconductors, optics, electro-magnetic materials, starting charge for crystal growth, synthesis of laser crystals and also the elaboration of silicon single crystals for gravitational waves detectors [1][2][3][4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…High purity quartz is frequently used for photovoltaic silicon and some optical applications. In this case, the best performance comes from high pure silica with low content of chemical impurities, mainly Fe, Al, Ti, K, Na, Cr, Ni, Mn and Cu [1][2][3][4][5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quartz Ore Beneficiation by Reverse Flotation for Silicon Production

Medjahed

Kheloufi

Bobocioiu

et al. 2020

Silicon

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In this work the reverse flotation as beneficiation process for high-purity silica valorization from Draissa quartz deposits (Algeria) is studied as a potential raw material for photovoltaic silicon production and also for starting charge for crystal growth material for a large wide of application such laser and scintillation. The samples are examined investigated by optical microscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence and Raman spectroscopy. The microscopic investigations detect solid impurities such as alkaline and plagioclase feldspars, micas and iron oxides. The analyzed silica shows well-developed crystals areas, delimited by microcrystalline regions. Impurities are predominantly located in low quartz granulometry (50-100μm). The XRF results highlight 93.63wt.% SiO 2 , 0.16wt.%, Fe 2 O 3 , 0.171wt.% Cl, 0.15wt.% CaO, 5.74wt.% Al 2 O 3 , 0.074 wt.% K 2 O, 0.001%wt CdO, 0.006%wt. SnO 2. However, these results remain insufficient for predestined use of this material raw quartz directly. A preliminary enrichment using reverse flotation process improves the silica purity up to 99.6% and removes the major impurities, which is suitable intermediate technological product able for silicon production and optical application domain.

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Section: Fig 1 Is Herementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quartz Ore Beneficiation by Reverse Flotation for Silicon Production

Medjahed

Kheloufi

Bobocioiu

et al. 2020

Silicon

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“…Thus, silica sands are usually treated to remove impurities before any further processing. In this context, various studies have been carried out to prepare pure silica from natural sands using different routes, such as magnetic separation (Bouabdallah et al 2015;Haghi et al 2016), acid leaching (Sun et al 2013;Kheloufi et al 2017), a green purification method (Li et al 2016), reverse flotation technique, and ultrasound processing (Haghi et al 2016). For instance, Khalifa et al (2019) successfully attempted novel thermal techniques to remove metallic impurities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A holistic approach towards characterizing the El-Oued siliceous sand (eastern Algeria) for potential industrial applications

et al. 2021

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Physicochemical, mineralogical, and thermogravimetric characterizations were carried out to assess the potential technological benefits of natural sand deposits from El-Oued district (eastern Algeria). The use of granulometric analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM/EDX), and thermogravimetric (TGA) analysis was necessary to further highlight the main physical and chemical properties of the studied sands. The grain size distribution suggests fine-to-medium sands with a mean grain size ranged from 207 to 261 μm. However, the grain micro-texture features indicate aeolian nature of El-Oued sand, and the chemical analysis reveals that all samples contain a high ratio of silica (SiO 2 ) reaching 94% with low content of CaO, Al 2 O 3 , Fe 2 O 3 , Na 2 O, and K 2 O oxides, which reflects the siliceous nature of El-Oued sand. The mineralogy of the El-Oued sand consists mainly of α-quartz (≤ 93% SiO 2 ) with minor calcite (CaCO 3 ) and very small amounts of feldspar mineral. Furthermore, the crystallite size of Quartz in all sand samples was determined to be in the range of nanometric scale. Thermal analysis (TGA) showed that El-Oued sand was relatively stable upon 800 °C. These characteristics corroborate the interesting and promising uses of El-Oued sand in the industry and nanotechnology. KeywordsSand • Mineralogical and chemical characterization • α-Quartz • Rietveld refinement • Industrial applications

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