TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The metal is aluminum. The glass melt comprises a soda-lime-silica glass melt. The glass has a higher thermal coefficient of expansion than the thermal coefficient of expansion of silicon, so that the glass is separated from the silicon by fracturing during cooling. Preferred Method: The process involves maintaining the temperature of the glass melt above the melting point of elemental silicon; maintaining a non-oxidizing atmosphere above the glass melt; firing at least one burner above the glass melt with a sub-stoichiometric (oxidant-lean) flame; bubbling the glass melt with: a) at least one of a neutral gas or a reducing gas; or b) at least one of exhaust gas, water or steam; collecting elemental silicon and molten glass from the bulk glass melt, and cooling the elemental silicon and glass; and separating the elemental silicon from the glass. The step of separating the elemental silicon from the glass is by thermal shock. The process involves spraying the elemental silicon and glass with a liquid, optionally water. The process for the production of elemental silicon from a silica-containing glass melt involves charging at least one of silica containing glass forming materials or silica containing cullet to a melting furnace; combusting a fuel and an oxidant to heat the at least one of silica containing glass forming materials or silica containing cullet in the melting furnace to form a glass melt; contacting the glass melt with a metal capable of undergoing a bimolecular reaction between the silica containing glass and metal at elevated temperature to reduce the oxidation state of silicon in the glass to elemental silicon while oxidizing the metal, by charging the metal to the furnace separately from and/or together with the silica containing glass forming materials or silica containing cullet; heating the glass melt to at least the temperature of the bimolecular reaction to effect the reduction of silica to elemental silicon; collecting the elemental silicon and molten associated glass from the glass melt; cooling the elemental silicon and molten associated glass; and optionally separating the cooled associated glass from the elemental silicon. The elemental silicon and molten glass is drawn from the furnace into a trough in communication with at least one cooling box for collecting the elemental silicon and molten associated glass. The elemental silicon and molten associated glass are cooled in the cooling box to solid form, optionally by at least one of: directing a water spray, cooling air or a cooling gas stream onto at least one exterior surface of the cooling box, or spraying the elemental silicon and molten glass with a liquid, optionally water. The associated glass is initially maintained in a molten state in the cooling box, and at least a portion of the molten glass is drawn from the cooling box, allowing the elemental silicon to collect at the surface of the molten glass, and cooling the elemental silicon and molten residual glass. The process includes cooling the elemental silicon and molten residual glass by spraying a liquid, optionally water, on the elemental silicon; and shattering the cooled residual glass; separating the residual glass from the elemental silicon by at least one of thermal shock, where the glass has a higher thermal coefficient of expansion than the silicon; and fracturing the glass during cooling. The cooled associated glass is separated from the elemental silicon by crushing or grinding the elemental silicon and associated glass to form a mixture, and separating the mixture. EXAMPLE - No suitable example given.