Thermodynamics Research Center / ThermoML | Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics

Experimental determination of diffusion and mass transfer of boron oxide in molten slag for metallurgical grade silicon purification

Wang, F.[Fanmao], Wu, J.[Jijun], Ma, W.[Wenhui], Lei, Y.[Yun], Wei, K.[Kuixian], Yang, B.[Bin]
J. Chem. Thermodyn. 2018, 118, 215-224
ABSTRACT
Mass transfer of boron within silicon and slag is a critical component in boron removal from metallurgical grade silicon by slag refining. To clarify the mechanism of B mass transfer in slag, the present work reports an experimental kinetic study of B removal. The diffusion coefficient of boron oxide in a binary 0.37CaO-0.63SiO2 (mass fraction) slag was determined by a capillary-bath diffusion device. The mass transfer coefficient of B2O3 in the binary slag is calculated according to the experimental observations during slag refining, and the thickness of boundary layer between reaction interface and slag is obtained. The results show that the diffusion coefficient of B2O3 in 0.37CaO-0.63SiO2 slag is 5.24 10 9 m2 s 1 at 1723 K; the mass transfer coefficient is 6.2 10 6 m s 1 at the same condition. The thickness of the effective boundary layer between silicon-slag reaction interface and slag is 0.85 mm. It is confirmed that the mass transfer of B2O3 in binary 0.37CaO-0.63SiO2 slag is the rate-controlling step for B removal using calcium silicate slag refining.
Compounds
# Formula Name
1 CaO calcium monoxide
2 O2Si silicon dioxide
3 B2O3 boron oxide (B2O3)
Datasets
The table above is generated from the ThermoML associated json file (link above). POMD and RXND refer to PureOrMixture and Reaction Datasets. The compound numbers are included in properties, variables, and phases, if specificied; the numbers refer to the table of compounds on the left.
Type Compound-# Property Variable Constraint Phase Method #Points
  • POMD
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • Tracer diffusion coefficient, m2/s - 3 ; Liquid
  • Mole fraction - 3; Liquid
  • Pressure, kPa; Liquid
  • Temperature, K; Liquid
  • Solvent: Mass fraction - 1; Liquid
  • Liquid
  • capillary-bath diffusion device
  • 1