Oriental Journal of Chemistry is a peer reviewed quarterly research journal of pure and applied chemistry. It publishes standard research papers in almost all thrust areas of current chemistry of academic and commercial importance. It provides a platform for rapid publication of quality research papers, reviews and chemistry letters. Oriental Journal of Chemistry is abstracted and indexed in almost all reputed National and International agencies.

This paper presents the results of optimizing the physicochemical properties of microsilica-based composite briquettes for metallurgical-grade silicon production. Microsilica, a waste product of silicon production, contains a sufficiently high amount of silicon dioxide (96–97%). This fact makes microsilica a promising composite material for metallurgical processing. However, its granulometric composition limits its direct use. The method of briquetting on an industrial briquetting press was used. The influence of the granulometric composition of the composite mixture on the heat tolerance and reactivity of the finished briquettes was studied. The methods of obtaining and testing the briquettes, their composition, and the briquetting and drying process were described. The obtained briquettes were tested for the smelting of metallurgical silicon. The silicon recovery rate in the metal with the standard charge was 71%, while the recovery rate with the briquetted monocharge was 85%. The results of silicon smelting from the briquettes demonstrated the high quality of the obtained metal, corresponding to the standards of metallurgical-grade silicon. The implementation of these technologies improves the quality of the finished product and addresses environmental issues related to the disposal of microsilica, reducing its accumulation and minimizing its impact on the environment.

This work presents the results of optimizing the physicochemical properties of composite briquettes based on microsilica for metallurgical-grade silicon production. Microsilica, a waste product of silicon production, contains a sufficiently high amount of silicon dioxide (96-97%). This fact makes microsilica a promising composite material for metallurgical processing. However, its granulometric composition limits its direct use. The method of briquetting on an industrial briquetting press was used. The influence of the granulometric composition of the composite mixture on the heat tolerance and strength of the finished briquettes was studied. The methods of obtaining and testing the briquettes, their composition, and the briquetting and drying process are described. The obtained briquettes were tested for the smelting of metallurgical silicon. The silicon recovery rate in the metal with the standard charge was 71%, while the recovery rate with the briquetted monocharge was 85%. The results of silicon smelting from the briquettes demonstrated the high quality of the obtained metal, corresponding to the standards of metallurgical-grade silicon. The implementation of these technologies not only improves the quality of the final product but also addresses environmental issues related to the disposal of microsilica, reducing its accumulation and minimizing its impact on the environment.

The article identifies the key sources of iron and boron impurities entering silicon metal under industrial smelting conditions in Submerged arc furnace (SAF). Impurity rocks in the composition of quartz, the main raw material for the production of silicon metal, were studied using the X-ray fluorescence method, and their visual classification was carried out. It has been established that the energy of secondary characteristic x-ray radiation (CXR) for boron and iron contained in the feedstock is 3.1 and 6.3 keV, respectively. A relationship was found between the intensity of CXR pulses and the concentration of iron and boron impurities. The features of the distribution of these elements between metallurgical phases (silicon metal, slag and gas phase) when used in the smelting process with and without borate flux (colemanite) have been established. Under industrial conditions, it has been established that the transfer coefficient of boron into silicon metal is reduced when using borate flux from 76.3% to 58.36%. The transfer of iron into silicon metal from the charge remains at the same level with a slight downward trend from 93.18% to 92.12%. This may be explained by a reduction in the contact time of the molten slag accumulating on the bottom with liquid silicon metal. There is also a reduction in the consumption of charge materials when using colemanite from 6.07 to 5.635 t/t of silicon metal due to the reduction in the time of cleaning the smelting bath from viscous slag accumulated on the bottom.

The article deals with the influence of operational aspects on the performance of the reduction process in reactors with submerged electrical arc. Experiments were conducted in the large-scale laboratory conditions in one-electrode furnace with a capacity of 200 kVA at Chemical and Metallurgical Institute (Karaganda, Kazakhstan). Also limited industrial research in the furnace with the capacity of 30 MVA at LLP ‘Tau-KenTemir’ was conducted.In the process of the research, evidence was achieved that increasing the interval between the furnace top treatments up to 30 minutes, and achieving a balance between the material and thermal flows in a reactor allow increasing silicon yieldup to 10-15% minimum. Fluctuations in the phase currentstabilize. It was proved that on the basis of the concept of balancing it is possible to bringan industrial reactor out of complex crisis statesrather quickly.

In this study, the effects of specific power (1–100 W/cm²), operating pressure (0.5–3.0 Pa), and voltage frequency (20–500 kHz) on film growth kinetics, morphology, and silicon entrainment were investigated to optimize magnetron sputtering for producing thin silicon films suitable for lithium-ion battery anodes. Silicon films were deposited on copper substrates using the Caroline D12C system. The film thickness and morphology were determined using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. It was found that the porosity of the films increases with increasing pressure in the working chamber. It was found that the film morphology is non-uniform up to a thickness of 100–150 nm. After that, the film thickness becomes uniform over the entire substrate surface, and the deposition rate increases sharply, i.e., an induction period is observed. The induction period duration decreases with increasing voltage power and frequency. At the same time, silicon removal increases. Frequency has a greater effect on both parameters. The paper specifies a strategy for the technical and economic optimization of the magnetron sputtering process, which determines a compromise between the positive effect of increasing productivity and the negative effect of silicon removal.