SBIR Phase I: A GREEN PROCESS FOR LOW-COST PRODUCTION OF SILICON CARBIDE FROM WASTE SILICON

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发和商业化生产高纯度碳化硅粉末的新技术-电动汽车，5G通信设备，汽车，航空航天等中使用的半导体的关键原料-以显著降低生产成本和减少75%的环境足迹。 目前，碳化硅粉末通常是进口的，并且不是以环境可持续的方式制造的。该项目为国内碳化硅市场提供了一种新的制造工艺，预计将从2016年的1.5亿美元增长到2027年的5亿美元。该项目提出了一种在高度控制的温度/停留时间条件下使硅粉末与烃气体反应以生产纯的结晶碳化硅粉末的方法。该项目开发了一个连续的两步工艺，包括烃气体的催化热解（硅粉作为催化剂），以生产高活性碳，随后与细Si粉反应，形成高纯度β碳化硅，并通过传统的烧结方法转化为α碳化硅。 目的是一步生产50 g高纯细粒度碳化硅，用于工业评价，探索反应动力学，气固接触，优化碳化硅的产率和产品纯度，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to develop and commercialize a new technology for production of a high-purity silicon carbide powder – a critical feedstock for the semiconductors used in electric vehicles, 5G communication equipment, automobiles, aerospace, etc. - at significantly lower production cost and 75% decreased environmental footprint. Currently silicon carbide powder is generally imported and is not made in an environmentally sustainable fashion. The proposed project advances a new manufacturing process for the domestic silicon carbide market, estimated to grow from $150 million in 2016 to $500 million in 2027. This project advances a process to react silicon powder with a hydrocarbon gas under highly controlled temperature/residence time conditions to produce a pure, crystalline silicon carbide powder. This project develops a sequential two-step process consisting of catalytic pyrolysis of hydrocarbon gas (silicon powder acting as a catalyst) to produce highly active carbon, which subsequently reacts with fine Si powder to form high-purity beta silicon carbide for conversion into alpha silicon carbide with conventional sintering methods. The objective is to produce 50 g of high purity and fine particle size silicon carbide in one step for industrial evaluation, exploring reaction kinetics, gas solid contacting, optimization of yield and product purity of silicon carbide, as well as process design and technoeconomic analysis for translation at scale.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.