PyroGenesis Provides 2nd Progress Report to HPQ Silicon Resources

PyroGenesis (TSXV:PYR) has announced it has submitted a progress report to HPQ Silicon Resources called “Update on the PUREVAP Process Characterization Testing #2,” covering the period since the last technical report.
As quoted in the press release:

The salient points of the report are significant in that they validate the systematic and methodical approach to the lab scale test purification work, and the scaling up of the process to convert quartz into high purity silicon metal.
The report confirms that recent, and ongoing, modifications to the PUREVAP™ process have resulted in: (i) a 62% improvement in the impurity removal capacity of the system using low purity quartz as feedstock and (ii) a 531% increase in yield of the silicon (Si) produced.
“We are pleased with the progress to date,” said Pierre Carabin, Chief Technology Officer of PyroGenesis. “We have now reached a stage where we can start testing using high purity feedstock which will allow us to validate the impurity removal capacity of the lab scale reactor and ultimately, to further improve the product purity.”
Having successfully secured access to high purity quartz (99.5% SiO₂), the next phase will apply high efficiency impurity removal techniques to this higher purity feedstock. The objective of using a higher purity feedstock is to test the ability to reach the 5N (99.999%) benchmark at lab scale, and furthermore, to provide additional data which will help PyroGenesis with the final design of the pilot plant reactor. These tests will commence as soon as the latest process improvements are completed.
“These results demonstrate that the PUREVAP™ QRR quartz purification process can continue to be successfully improved while using low purity feedstock at the bench scale. This represents yet more important technical milestones being reached in our path toward production of Solar Grade Silicon Metal. At this stage of our development, we continue to pass critical milestones consistently and must continue our ‘iterative’ approach of incrementally increasing size, and purity step by step”, said Bernard Tourillon, Chairman and CEO of HPQ. “Building on our scaling up success to date, the coming months should allow us to continue to make improvements to our scaling up program, while simultaneously testing for the best and greenest pathway to produce 5N (99.999% Si) Solar Grade Silicon Metal at lab scale, prior to start-up of the Pilot plant scheduled for 2018.”

Click here to read the full press release.