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US 2015/0175431 A1Published application
Method to purify aluminum and use of purified aluminum to purify silicon
AssigneeSilicor Materials Inc.
InventorAlain Turenne
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention provides a method of purifying aluminum, and/or use of the purified aluminum as a solvent metal to purify silicon.
Claims29
A method for purifying aluminum, the method comprising:
- (a) forming a molten liquid from aluminum and a metal additive selected from at least one of titanium, vanadium, zirconium, and chromium;
- (b) allowing impurities to form in the molten liquid, wherein the impurities comprise a reaction product of the metal additive and boron;
- (b) optionally removing at least a portion of the impurities from the molten liquid;
- (d) cooling the molten liquid to form solidified aluminum;
- and
- (e) optionally removing a portion of the solidified aluminum comprising at least a portion of the impurities;
- wherein at least one of the optional steps is carried out, to provide purified aluminum.
4 more elements
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A method for purifying silicon, the method comprising:
- (a) forming a molten liquid from silicon and aluminum, wherein the aluminum comprises less than about 0.55 ppmw boron;
- (b) cooling the molten liquid, to form silicon crystals and a mother liquor;
- and
- (c) separating the silicon crystals and the mother liquor.
1 more element
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.