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LordChallen
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I'm trying to determine how much energy it takes to melt down sand into silicon, and convert it to solar panels.
any info would be great.
Thanks.
any info would be great.
Thanks.
A more recent study by researchers from the Netherlands and the USA (Fthenakis, Kim and Alsema, 2008), which analyses PV module production processes based on data from 2004-2006. They find that it takes 250kWh of electricity to produce 1m2 of crystalline silicon PV panel.
LordChallen said:Thank you for the reply. Yes I am trying to find the cost of creating solar panels in terms of carbon and energy. So far it looks like you get about 3 times your investment back out of the solar panels.
LordChallen said:Does anyone know the standard rate of repair that the Earth can return carbon dioxide to oxygen?
Michael Raupach, formerly of the CSIRO and now at the Australian National University, said land and oceans take up about half of all CO2 emissions and help show the pace of global warming.
Despite some year-to-year variability, particularly on land, a pattern is emerging over decades suggesting the sinks "are not keeping pace with rising CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere", Professor Raupach said.
"This is partly a sign that the efficiencies of the all-important land and ocean CO2 sinks are weakening," he said.
Professor Raupach was lead author of a paper published in Biogeosciences in July which showed that during the 1959-2012 period, about 44 per cent of the total anthropogenic CO2 emissions remained in the atmosphere. During the period, the combined land and ocean CO2 sink rate declined by about one-third.
That appears to be about an order of magnitude too low. [ref: $20/kg China] [ref: $11.50-$17.50/kg]rootone said:Bulk crystalline Silicon is sold for industrial purposes at about 1 or 2 dollars/euro for a Kg, though prices fluctuate of course.
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The energy cost of making silicon varies depending on the specific manufacturing process used. However, on average, producing one kilogram of silicon requires approximately 130-140 kilowatt-hours of electricity.
In terms of energy consumption, making silicon is relatively high compared to other materials. For example, producing one kilogram of aluminum requires only 60-70 kilowatt-hours of electricity.
The energy cost of making silicon is primarily influenced by the production process and the source of the raw materials. Other factors include the type of energy used (e.g. fossil fuels or renewable energy) and the efficiency of the manufacturing equipment.
Yes, there are continuous efforts to develop more efficient and sustainable processes for producing silicon. This includes using renewable energy sources, implementing energy-saving technologies, and finding alternative raw materials.
One way to reduce the energy cost of making silicon is to improve the efficiency of the manufacturing process. This can be achieved through the use of advanced technologies, such as plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition, which require less energy to produce high-quality silicon. Another approach is to use renewable energy sources to power the production process, which can significantly reduce the overall energy consumption and carbon footprint.