Metallurgical grade silicon was purified through solvent refining method by adding tin to the Si-Al alloy. The distribution of phosphorus and metallic impurities in the resulting Si-Al-Sn melts was investigated. Compared with the primary Si and the eutectic alpha Al+Si, the phosphorus and metallic impurities were more distinctly distributed in the beta Sn phase, which was always accompanied by needle-like intermetallic beta-Al5SiFe compounds. To improve the phosphorus and metallic impurity removal ratios, Si-Al-Sn ternary alloys with different composition were investigated. The phosphorus removal ratio increased with the aluminum and tin content in the Si-Al-Sn ternary alloy. Compared to increasing the Al content and keeping the Si/Sn ratio fixed, the impurity removal ratios were higher when the Sn content was increased to the same mass percentage and the Si/Al ratio was kept fixed in the Si-Al-Sn melt. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.