A method for the continuous purification of quartz powder

摘要

In a process for continuously refining a quartz powder inside a rotating cylindrical quartz glass tube, the rotating cylindrical quartz glass tube is partitioned into at least 3 chambers comprising a pre-heating chamber, a reaction chamber, and a gas desorption chamber, said process characterized in that it comprises pre-heating the starting quartz powder by continuously supplying it into the pre-heating chamber, refining the powder by transferring it into the reaction chamber in which the powder is brought into contact with a chlorine-containing gas atmosphere, and transferring the powder into the gas desorption chamber; the chambers may be partitioned using a sectioning board having an opening. The process for refining quartz powder according to the present invention favorably purifies a quartz powder, and particularly, it favorably removes alkali metal elements such as sodium and potassium, as well as transition metal elements such as iron, copper, chromium, and nickel from a powder of naturally occurring quartz. The process according to the present invention also removes alkaline earth metal elements such as magnesium and calcium. Furthermore, it is of high productivity because it can be operated continuously to yield high purity quartz powder at a low cost. Thus, the process is industrially advantageous.