Friday, July 4, 2014

Salt tofu can make solar panels more safe and cheap

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Solar panels are a device that generates renewable solar energy without carbon dioxide emissions. However, the manufacturing process of the panels is not as sustainable as the function they perform, for use in his composition toxic materials that harm the planet and human health, especially the cadmium chloride, which is used to improve the efficiency of solar cells but which is quite toxic.

However, researchers at the University of Liverpool believe they have found a replacement for cadmium chloride which is much safer: a salt that is used to make tofu, magnesium chloride.

This chemical compound is a common salt which is also used in bath salts and to remove the ice from the roads â€" and who now might have another application. The magnesium chloride is extracted from seawater and is fairly cheap and secure than cadmium chloride â€" €0,0007 per gram, compared with €0,2 per gram of cadmium chloride.

Millions of solar panels throughout the world have cadmium chloride in their composition, since the compound helps the efficiency of solar cells. According to the University of Liverpool, cheaper solar cells on the market are based on a thin film of insoluble cadmium telluride. Only with this compound, the solar cells are able to convert less than 2% of the solar energy into electricity, but in the presence of cadmium chloride efficiency increases to 15%.

According to Jon Major, principal investigator and physically, the application of magnesium chloride allows the same efficiency of the cells but with a greater degree of security and makes the manufacture of cheaper panels. "We have to handle the cadmium chloride in a laboratory hood, but we created solar cells using a new method that can be accomplished under the laboratory bench with a spray gun purchased at a drugstore," explains the researcher, quoted by Tree Hugger. "Cadmium chloride is toxic and expensive, and stopped using it. Replace it with a natural compound may enable big savings to renewables industry ", indicates.

Many other researchers are also finding more natural and safe alternatives to produce solar cells, such as biodegradable plastics and wood fibers. So in short, the solar panels can be as clean as the energy they generate.

Foto: haley. s / Creative Commons

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