Valorization of Southeast Algerian Dune Sand as a Source to Metallurgical Grade Silicon Production

This work investigates certain physical and structural properties of three categories of sand samples, as natural resource, taken from Three deposits of El-Oued region in southeast Algeria. X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) have been used. The X’Pert High Score program was used in the analysis of XRD data. The chemical analysis reveals a relative purity of El-Oued sand, with 90 % of SiO₂, in addition to the presence of some oxides such as Iron and Aluminum oxides. The mineralogical analysis confirms the presence of a-quartz with a high crystalline nature, calcite and feldspar minerals. Furthermore, the micrograph observations revealed the presence of different shapes and sizes of sand grains. The shapes of Mih Ouensa, Reguiba and Taleb Larbi sand grain samples ranged from rounded to subangular to irregular. However, the construction sands of Mih Ouensa have shapes ranging from elongate to subrounded. The obtained results affirm that the three regions could be important sources of quartz and gypsum which are primary materials for many industrial applications such as construction materials, microelectronics, and semiconductors