* Two 'problems' with solar panels and reasons for 'why I'm not installing them' that are said to me constantly are that 'manufacturing solar panels uses a lot of [fossil-fuel) energy' and 'they can't be recycled - we're going to have our rubbish dumps filled with old solar panels'!
WRONG! JUST ANOTHER TWO MYTHS THAT NEED TO BE CHALLENGED AND CORRECTED!
* In latest developments researchers at Macquarie University, Sydney have made two significant discoveries in the manufacture and recycling of solar panels!
* First they have found a way of reducing the time and energy taken for annealing the silicon in solar panels from 30 minutes in current high temperature ovens to several seconds by using microwave radiation - huge savings on energy and increasing energy efficiency in the manufacture of solar panels!
BUT JUST AS IMPORTANT - IN THE PROCESS OF DOING THAT:
* Second, by selectively heating the silicon the plastic [ethylene vinyl acetate] coating, that protects the silicon plate from moisture and contamination, it can be softened so that it can be peeled off mechanically while the other components, glass and aluminium, stay at room temperature with little damage and are able to be recycled more easily and with less energy.
* Further, the most valuable component from the recycled solar panels is silver: 50% of the recycling value. Currently, to reclaim the silver, the glass is crushed and is less reusable because of both high heating and toxic chemical wash - and the crushing of the glass panel.
By being able to peel the acetate coating from the glass of the panel means the panel is able to be retained intact & able to be re-used in different ways - including new solar panels! The silver gained from the other components is 25 times the amount currently!
SO! TWO MORE EXCUSES & MYTHS FOR NOT GOING SOLAR - BASED ON WRONG INFORMATION - DEBUNKED!!
[D.Smith for 'Electrifying Bradfield Inc' based on information from an article by Jen Walker in CREATE, April 26, 2023]
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