This invention belongs to the technical field of secondary resource recycling and reuse of rare and precious metals, rare and dispersed metals, and
rare earth metals, and relates to a method for co-enriching rare and precious metals in waste materials using
silicon and a low-frequency
electric arc furnace. The method utilizes a low-frequency
electric arc furnace as the
smelting equipment. The
waste material containing rare and precious metals to be treated and a
slag-forming agent are mixed in a certain proportion, formed into
pellets, dried, and then added to the low-frequency
electric arc furnace for melting to obtain pre-melted
slag. Industrial
silicon or waste
silicon materials are crushed, pelletized, dried, and then added to the low-frequency
electric arc furnace for high-temperature melting and collection to improve the reaction efficiency between materials. After a period of reaction, silicon
slag is separated to obtain
molten silicon and
smelting slag. After removing the
smelting slag, pre-melted slag is added for continued melting and heat preservation. After multiple melting and enrichment processes,
molten silicon enriched with rare and precious metals is obtained. The
molten silicon is poured out and cooled to obtain silicon ingots enriched with rare and precious metals. The silicon ingots are crushed, ground, and the rare and precious metals are separated and purified. The silicon material can be reused as a silicon source or used as a
raw material for producing solar-grade silicon. The present invention has a simple process and low
energy consumption cost, which is conducive to industrial application.