METHOD FOR PREPARING SILICON Russian patent published in 2015 - IPC C01B33/23 

FIELD: chemistry.

SUBSTANCE: silicon dioxide melt is flown into a crucible at min. 2,000°C and sealed to generate the environment maintaining an excessive pressure of min. 2.0 MPa in a gas phase above the melted material. A mixture of water vapour and methane ('air blow') is supplied inside the melted silicone dioxide material. By melt temperature, vapour conversion of methane is observed in the mixture of water vapour and methane inside the melted material accompanied by generation of hydrogen, including monoatomic, and carbon oxide. First, silicon dioxide is reduced by hydrogen to elemental silicone, which in turn reacts with silicone dioxide in the melted material to produce silicone monoxide. Silicone monoxide produced by the reaction of silicone monoxide by an excessive pressure above the melted material is not transformed into a gaseous state, and remains liquid in the melted material and does not react to hydrogen, reducing silicone.

EFFECT: invention enables producing silicone with low impurity content, including carbon and oxygen.