Impact of dust emissions from the silicon production on working conditions

Abstract

Metallurgical enterprises are one of the largest sources of dust emissions. Dust is the main air pollutant in the working area and is formed in all areas where the metal production process is carried out. Thus, up to 900 kg of dust is formed in the production of 1 ton of silicon. Inhalation of such dust by workers of the foundry can contribute to the development of a number of dangerous respiratory diseases. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to study the dust waste of the silicon production and to analyze the working conditions of employees of the given enterprise in order to develop measures to reduce the dust load and improve the working conditions. The article also presents the results of studies of the particle size distribution of dust emissions in the silicon production. Using the X-ray phase analysis method, it was shown that the dust of the silicon production mainly consisted of amorphous silica, as well as silicon and carborundum. According to the results of the chemical analysis, it was found that this type of waste contained on average 86% of the valuable SiO₂ component. The particle-size analysis of the composition of gas cleaning dust from the silicon production showed that there were particles in the dust ranging in size from 0.1 to 600 µm. Most particles had a size of -50.00 + 100.00 µm. Particles of this size are easily inhaled by the operating personnel and quickly penetrate into the lungs and affect the lung tissue. During the assessment of the working conditions of the silicon enterprise by this factor, it has been found that all workplaces of the electrothermal department have hazardous conditions and correspond to the class of working conditions 3.2, and the allowable work period under these conditions is 6 years. The analysis of the above data shows that gas cleaning dust of the silicon production contains a significant amount of the valuable SiO₂ component, and the volumes formed allow this material to be used as a silica-containing raw material. Therefore, in order to effectively solve environmental problems and improve the working conditions of silicon production workers, it is necessary to develop innovative technologies for recycling fine silica-containing waste and other methods for their disposal.