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What are the essential differences between metallic silicon 441 and metallic silicon 553? Let’s analyze it together.

Metallic silicon, also known as industrial silicon, is mainly used as an additive for non-iron-based alloys. Metallic silicon is a product smelted from quartz and coke in an electric furnace. The main component silicon content is about 98%, and the remaining impurities are iron, aluminum, calcium, etc.

Metallic silicon is usually classified according to the content of its three main impurities: iron, aluminum, and calcium. According to the percentage content of iron, aluminum, and calcium in metallic silicon, metallic silicon can be divided into different grades such as 553, 441, 421, 3303, 2202, and 1101.
For example, 553 represents the content of iron-aluminum-calcium in metallic silicon as 0.5%, 0.5%, and 0.3%; 441 represents the content of iron-aluminum-calcium in metallic silicon as 0.4%, 0.4%, and 0.1%.

Specifically, metallic silicon is obtained by the high-temperature reaction of quartz and carbon in a submerged arc furnace: SIO2+C=SI+CO2. Quartz can be of poor quality or good quality, and carbon as a reducing agent can also be of poor quality or good quality. The difference in these raw materials determines the purity of industrial silicon.

Therefore, the essential difference between metallic silicon 441 and metallic silicon 553 is that the purity content is different and the price is different;
The silicon content of metallic silicon 553 is ≥98.7%, while the silicon content of 441 is ≥99.1%; the higher the quality of the raw materials, the higher the price of the manufactured products.