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Finite Element Analysis and Techno-economic Modeling of Solar Silicon Molten Salt Electrolysis

  • Silicon Production, Refining, Properties, and Photovoltaics
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Abstract

A new process is presented for low-cost one-step production of pure solid silicon from natural quartzite by molten salt electrolysis. At a process temperature of 1100°C, a techno-economic model including detailed mass and energy balances estimates energy consumption below 15 kWh/kg, with operating cost of $1.74/kg and capital cost around $10,500 per t/a (tonne annually) of production capacity for a 160,000 t/a plant. Use of an inert solid oxide membrane anode results in a pure oxygen by-product and no direct emissions. Finite element analysis estimates the current density distribution and total current to inform the design of slab-shaped solid silicon cathodes.

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Acknowledgments

This material is based upon work supported by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the Solar Energy Technologies Office Award No. DE-EE0008988 and by the US National Science Foundation under Award Nos. 1937818 and 1829089. This research was performed using computational resources supported by the Academic and Research Computing group at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials Science and Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Rd., Worcester, MA, 01609, USA

    Aditya Moudgal, Mohammad Asadikiya, Adam Powell & Yu Zhong

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100 Institute Rd., Worcester, MA, USA

    Sarat Buasai, Yi Jie Wu, Alexander McMahon, Jacob M. Hazerjian, Vicky Luu & Ariana Ly

  3. Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Boston University, 730 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA, USA

    Uday Pal

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  1. Aditya Moudgal
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Correspondence to Adam Powell.

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Moudgal, A., Buasai, S., Wu, Y.J. et al. Finite Element Analysis and Techno-economic Modeling of Solar Silicon Molten Salt Electrolysis. JOM 73, 233–243 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-020-04468-y

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