The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 13, 1998
Filed:
Sep. 10, 1996
Jerald Smith, Kennesaw, GA (US);
Stephen Johnson, Beaver, PA (US);
Steven Oxman, Annapolis, MD (US);
Elkem Metals Company L.P., Sewickly, PA (US);
Abstract
The process calculates the amount of silica and oxidizing agent to use in a refining process for metallurgical-grade silicon. The calculation for silica takes into account (1) the aluminum content of the previous batch of refined silicon; (2) the calcium content of the previous batch of refined silicon; (3) the trend in the aluminum content of the unrefined silicon; and (4) the age of the ladle used for refining. The process then calculates the amount of silica based on a predetermined minimum amount of silica to add, a predetermined maximum amount of silica to add and the amount of silica added to the previous batch of refined silicon. The calculation for oxidizing agent is based on (1) the aluminum content of the previous batch of refilled silicon; (2) the calcium content of the previous batch of refined silicon; and (3) the age of the ladle. The process then calculates the amount of oxidizing agent to add based on a maximum amount of oxidizing agent to add and the amount of oxiziding agent added to the the previous batch of refined silicon. By following this process, an increase in the amount of chemical-grade silicon is obtained.