ABBA Lab

Advanced Biomaterials for Biomedical Applications Lab

Journal

Novel recycling method for boron removal from silicon by thermal plasma treatment coupled with steam and hydrogen gases
Year
2017
Author
Su-Hyun Baek, Hyunjae Lee, Dong-Joon Min, Su-Ji Choi, Byung-Moon Moon, Hyun-Do Jung*
Journal
Metals
Vol
7(10)
Page
401
Boron (B) separation from photovoltaic silicon (Si) remains a research challenge in the recycling field. In this study, a novel B-removal process was developed using thermal plasma treatment coupled with steam and hydrogen gases. Experiments were performed on artificially B-doped Si using various plasma conditions of mixed argon (Ar)/steam/hydrogen gases and varied refining time. The B concentration in all of the samples decreased with increasing refining time. The use of the plasma mixed with Ar/steam/hydrogen gases resulted in a significant improvement of the efficiency of B removal compared with the Ar/steam plasma refining. In addition, with increasing steam content in the plasma with mixed Ar/steam/hydrogen gases, the B-removal rates increased.