KVAL: SiQua - Recycling of high purity silica and silicon resources from solar and semiconductor industry

The SiQua process address the challenges of limited availability and increasing demands of high purity quartz resources, which is resulting from an exponentially growing market of fused silica products applied in solar, semiconductor and lightning industry. The SiQua process recycle valuable waste streams of high purity silica and silicon from fused silica crucibles and fused silica products and re-introduces these resources back into the value chain. By applying a novel and patent pending technology developed by the Mineral processing group at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the material output of silica from the SiQua process can reach a purity level of 99,997%. The SiQua process is cost-efficient, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, outcompeting today?s mining industry of high purity quartz on all three aspects.

The SiQua process can recover valuable waste streams from discarded crucibles and silica rejects and return it into high purity silica and silicon in a cost-efficient, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly manner. It is the first technology that allows for a cost-competitive circular economy of high value silica, bringing a scarce raw material back into use instead of ending up in landfills. To enable commercial utilization of the Siqua process further research is required.