• Resources Recycling
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.3-11
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• 2022

Silicon is the most abundant metal element in the Earth's crust. Metallurgical-grade silicon (MG-Si) is an important metal that has wide industrial applications, such as a deoxidizer in the steelmaking industry, alloying elements in the aluminum industry, the preparation of organosilanes, and the production of electronic-grade silicon, which is used in the electronics industry as well as solar cells. MG-Si is produced industrially by the reduction smelting of silicon dioxide with carbon in the form of coal, coke, or wood chips in electric arc furnaces. MG-Si is purified by chemical treatments, such as the Siemens process. Most single-crystal silicon is produced using the Czochralski method. These smelting and refining methods will be helpful for the development of new recycling processes using secondary silicon resources.