Novel SiO2-CaO-CaF2-R2O-MgO based synthetic slags (R2O represents alkali metal oxides) with varied binary basicity values were used with oxygen injection to refine silicon melts and remove Fe from ...metallurgical-grade silicon. Silicon samples and slags at the silicon-slag interfaces were obtained during refinement. The compositions of the silicon samples were analyzed, and the quenched slag samples and mild cooling slags from the final crucible were inspected using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. After 15 min of refinement, the Fe removal rate ranged from 52.3 to 60.1 wt%. During the refining process, the Fe-concentrated phase formed within the silicon droplets and was then transferred to the silicon-slag interfaces and wetted with slags. The Fe-concentrated phase at the silicon-slag interface can dissolve directly in the slags. It can also be transferred into the slag phase in the form of droplets, which can be affected by the binary basicity of the slags. Ti removal demonstrated a similar mechanism. Fe-bearing crystals were not detected in the quenched slag samples obtained during refinement, while complex Fe-bearing phases were detected in the final slag. This study demonstrates Fe removal from metallurgical-grade Si using slag refining methods and reveals the removal mechanism during the refinement.
In this study, novel slags with a high basicity index were used to refine silicon melts with carbon dioxide injection to effectively remove Ti from metallurgical-grade silicon. Different compositions ...of the initial slag were used, and silicon samples were obtained during the refining. The results indicate that the Ti-removal rate initially increased with an increase in the basicity index, and it decreased after the basicity index exceeded 1.4. During the refining, silicon emulsification was observed at the slag–silicon interface, which was restricted by the increased basicity index of slags. Impurities that were concentrated in silicon droplets near the slag–silicon interfaces were oxidized, wetted by slags, and transferred to the slag phase. After 15 min of refining, up to 59 wt% of Ti in silicon could be removed and the Ti-concentrating phase in the slag contained 2.05 wt% of Ti. The results of this study provide a reference for low-cost Ti removal from metallurgical-grade silicon using a refining method.
Nucleon transfer experiments have in recent years begun to be exploited in the study of nuclei far from stability, using radioactive beams in inverse kinematics. New techniques are still being ...developed in order to perform these experiments. The present experiment is designed to study the odd-odd nucleus 26Na which has a high density of states and therefore requires gamma-ray detection to distinguish between them. The experiment employed an intense beam of up to 3×107 pps of 25Na at 5.0 MeV/nucleon from the ISAC-II facility at triumf. The new silicon array SHARC was used for the first time and was coupled to the segmented clover gamma-ray array TIGRESS. A novel thin plastic scintillator detector was employed at zero degrees to identify and reject reactions occurring on the carbon component of the (CD)2 target. The efficiency of the background rejection using this detector is described with respect to the proton and gamma-ray spectra from the (d,p) reaction.
The 18Ne(a,p)21Na reaction provides one of the main HCNO-breakout routes into the rp-process in X-ray bursts. The 18Ne(a,p_0)21Na reaction cross section has been determined for the first time in the ...Gamow energy region for peak temperatures T=2GK by measuring its time-reversal reaction 21Na(p,a)18Ne in inverse kinematics. The astrophysical rate for ground-state to ground-state transitions was found to be a factor of 2 lower than Hauser-Feshbach theoretical predictions. Our reduced rate will affect the physical conditions under which breakout from the HCNO cycles occurs via the 18Ne(a,p)21Na reaction.
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