Silicothermic reaction
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Silicothermic reactions are thermic
chemical reaction A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the IUPAC nomenclature for organic transformations, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the pos ...
s using
silicon Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic tab ...
as the
reducing agent In chemistry, a reducing agent (also known as a reductant, reducer, or electron donor) is a chemical species that "donates" an electron to an (called the , , , or ). Examples of substances that are commonly reducing agents include the Earth meta ...
at high temperature (800-1400°C). The most prominent example is the
Pidgeon process The Pidgeon process is one of the methods of magnesium metal production, via a silicothermic reduction. Practical production requires roughly 35–40 MWh/ton of metal produced, which is on par with the molten salt electrolytic methods of producti ...
for reducing
magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ta ...
metal from
ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...
s. Other processes include the Bolzano process and the magnetherm process. All three are commercially used for magnesium production. The silicothermic process for magnesium production was developed commercially in Canada during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
''Encyclopedia of materials, parts and finishes'', 2nd edition, Mel M. Schwartz, 2002, p. 371, by
Lloyd Montgomery Pidgeon Lloyd Montgomery Pidgeon, (December 3, 1903 – December 9, 1999) was a Canadian chemist who developed the Pidgeon process, one of the methods of magnesium metal production, via a silicothermic reduction. He is considered the "father" of acad ...
.


See also

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Aluminothermic reaction Aluminothermic reactions are exothermic chemical reactions using aluminum as the reducing agent at high temperature. The process is industrially useful for production of alloys of iron. The most prominent example is the thermite reaction between ...
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Calciothermic reaction Calciothermic reactions are metallothermic reduction reactions (more generally, thermic chemical reactions) which use calcium metal as the reducing agent at high temperature. Calcium is one of the most potent reducing agents available, usually dra ...


References

Metallurgy Metallurgical processes Inorganic reactions Silicon {{reaction-stub