The necessity of producing silicon for the chemical industry

The metal silicon produced in China (with a silicon content of mainly 98.5%) was originally mainly used for metallurgical purposes, while the production of chemical metal silicon (with a silicon content of mainly 99.85%) has mainly developed since the mid-1990s. The production and export of chemical silicon in China have grown rapidly. From 1999 to 2001, China's exports of chemical silicon to Japan reached 22000 tons, 30000 tons, and 40000 tons, respectively. In 2001, China's exports of chemical silicon to Japan accounted for over 40% of Japan's chemical silicon imports. China has started to join the ranks of chemical silicon production and supply countries, with an increasing number of enterprises producing chemical silicon. Due to the comprehensive disclosure of the carbon thermal reduction smelting process by Shanghai Guangji Silicon Materials Co., Ltd. in 2002, China's production capacity of metallic silicon rapidly increased from 100000 tons per year to 1.2 million tons between 2002 and 2004. As a result, the National Development and Reform Commission imposed comprehensive sanctions, and in 2006, the actual production of metallic silicon fell back to 700000 tons. In 2006, only Shanghai Guangji Silicon Materials Co., Ltd. Dawu Silicon Factory successfully built a 10000 ton metal silicon factory, Jingxin Factory, in the border of Xinjiang. Other silicon factories have been built. Chemical silicon refers to metallic silicon used in the production of organic silicon and polycrystalline silicon. From a global perspective, the consumption of metallurgical silicon is greater than that of chemical silicon. However, with the continuous development of science and technology, the use of chemical silicon in the production of organic silicon and semiconductors continues to expand, and is widely used in the production of organic silicon monomers and polymer silicone oil, silicone rubber, silicone resin building anti-corrosion, waterproofing agents, etc. They have unique properties such as high temperature resistance, electrical insulation, radiation resistance, and waterproofing. Used in electrical, aviation, mechanical, chemical, pharmaceutical, national defense, construction and other departments.

As the core electronic components of integrated circuits, over 95% are made of semiconductor silicon, which is the backbone of contemporary information industry. The fiber optic cables widely used in the "information superhighway" are also produced using metallic silicon as raw material. The consumption of chemical silicon in the United States and the European Union accounts for more than half of the total consumption of metallic silicon. Chemical silicon has been widely used as a high-tech field and an important basic industry, and its consumption is trending towards stable growth. Under normal international market conditions, the selling price of chemical silicon per ton is $300- $400 higher than that of metallurgical silicon.

Therefore, it is necessary to vigorously develop chemical silicon production, whether from meeting export and domestic demand, or from improving the economic benefits of metal silicon enterprises, improving product quality.