# US 9,751,066 B2 · Reactor for producing high-purity granular silicon

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 9,751,066 B2
- Document ID: US9751066B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 13/969,556
- Filed: 2013-08-17
- Published: 2013-12-19
- Granted: 2017-09-05
- Earliest claimed: 2011-03-08
- Assignees: Sunnyside Technologies, Inc.
- Applicants: Xi Chu
- Inventors: Xi Chu
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9751066B2

## CPC

- B01J 8/008: {Details of the reactor or of the particulate material; Processes to increase or to retard the rate of reaction (B01J8/0285, B01J8/067, B01J8/087, B01J8/1836 take precedence)}
- B01J 8/087: {Heating or cooling the reactor}
- B01J 8/12: moved by gravity in a downward flow
- B01J 8/16: with particles being subjected to vibrations or pulsations (B01J8/40 takes precedence)
- B01J 15/00: Chemical processes in general for reacting gaseous media with non-particulate solids, e.g. sheet material; Apparatus specially adapted therefor (B01J19/08 takes precedence)
- C01B 33/027: by decomposition or reduction of gaseous or vaporised silicon compounds other than silica or silica-containing material
- C01B 33/037: Purification (by zone-melting C30B13/00)
- C01B 33/025: with carbon or a solid carbonaceous material, i.e. carbo-thermal process
- C01B 33/03: by decomposition of silicon halides or halosilanes or reduction thereof with hydrogen as the only reducing agent
- Y02P 20/129: Energy recovery, e.g. by cogeneration, H2recovery or pressure recovery turbines
- B01J: CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
- C01B: NON-METALLIC ELEMENTS; COMPOUNDS THEREOF; {METALLOIDS OR COMPOUNDS THEREOF NOT COVERED BY SUBCLASS C01C}
- Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS

## Abstract

The present invention provides a reactor and a method for the production of high purity silicon granules. The reactor includes a reactor chamber; and the reaction chamber is equipped with a solid feeding port, auxiliary gas inlet, raw material gas inlet, and exhaust gas export. The reaction chamber is also equipped with an internal gas distributor; a heating unit; an external exhaust gas processing unit connected between a preheating unit and a gas inlet. The reaction chamber is further equipped with a surface finishing unit, a heating unit and a dynamics generating unit. The reaction is through decomposition of silicon containing gas in densely stacked high purity granular silicon layer reaction bed in relative motion, and to use remaining heat of exhaust gas for reheating. The present invention is to achieve a large scale, efficient, energy saving, continuous, low cost production of high purity silicon granules.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A reactor for the production of high purity granular silicon, comprising:
at least a reaction chamber equipped with at least a solid feeding port positioned at top of the reaction chamber; a solid output port positioned at bottom of the reaction chamber, an auxiliary gas inlet; a raw material gas inlet; and an outlet for exhaust gas; the reaction chamber being configured to receive silicon granules and to allow the silicon granules to form a silicon bed layer;
the reaction chamber being internally equipped with at least a gas distributor for the dispersion of auxiliary gas and raw material gas to deposit silicon on the surface of silicon granules inside the reaction chamber;
wherein a dynamics generating unit is further included inside the reactor, said dynamics generating unit being configured to cause said silicon granules to move inside said reaction chamber, and the reaction chamber is configured to provide a cross-flow mode,
wherein the overall silicon granule moving direction and the raw material gas flow direction in the reaction chamber are generally perpendicular to each other.

### Claim 2

The reactor of 1, wherein said dynamics generating unit is configured to provide ultrasonic vibration to the silicon granules.

### Claim 3

The reactor of 2, wherein said dynamics generation unit is configured to provide mechanical vibration to said silicon granules.

### Claim 4

The reactor of 3, wherein the reaction chamber is constructed of high purity silicon.

### Claim 5

The reactor of 4, wherein the reaction chamber is constructed of high purity silicon nitride.