Showing posts with label but. Show all posts
Showing posts with label but. Show all posts
Monday, March 27, 2017
Friday, March 10, 2017
14 Efficiency for Thin Film Solar Cells but Where will the Indium Come From
14 Efficiency for Thin Film Solar Cells but Where will the Indium Come From
One principal advantage of thin-film solar cells is that they use far less (maybe 1/100th the amount) of the semiconductor materials that are required to fabricate first-generation solar cells. The disadvantage is that compared with typical efficiencies of 15% for conventional solar cells, a practical efficiency of around 8% is more normal for thin-film cells.
Thin-film technologies offer the further prospect that the cells can be printed onto various flexible materials using a kind of ink-jet method, which offers numerous prospects for photo-voltaic devices in the future, beyond the simple scheme of roof-based solar panels. They are also more resistant to ionising radiation and should serve better in satellites which are in orbit above the Earths atmosphere and hence more exposed to damage by cosmic radiation during their working lifetime of perhaps a few decades.
However, the solar-energy company MiaSolé recently reported that an efficiency of 13.8% had been achieved from thin-film panels of practical dimensions (1 m^2), rather than a much smaller lab-scale test (1). This unprecedented value has been corroborated by the DoE National Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The world player in thin-film solar technologies is First Solar which makes its panels from cadmium and tellurium (Cad-Tel). While there have been steady gains in the efficiency of these, there is a practical limit of not much more than 10%, though 11.2% was reported recently (1).
While improvements in the CIGS panel efficiencies can be expected, there is the matter of accessing the materials themselves, from which they are made, most immediately indium. There are no significant ores of indium which is principally a by-product of zinc production, although roughly it is three-times as abundant (0.25 ppm) in the Earths crust as silver (0.075 ppm). Indium is leached from slag and dust of zinc production and the metal further purified by electrolysis.
It has been estimated on the basis of the amount of indium in zinc ore stocks, there is a world reserve base of 6,000 tonnes. Given current consumption of the metal, this is sufficient for only 13 years and less than that if CIGS technology takes-off. It has been concluded therefore that in the future less than 1% of solar pv will be in the form of CIGS thin-film cells.
This prognosis is challenged by the Indium Corporation, who are the worlds greatest producer of Indium, and assert that though the adaptation of more efficient recovery methods and from other ores, including tin, copper and other polymetallic deposits in hand with an expansion of mining operations, the supply of indium will prove sustainable (2).
Recycling of indium along with other rare metals (3) will also prove pivotal. It is nonetheless to be expected that there may be a supply-demand gap for indium, with a substantial escalation in its price, at least over the immediate term which is likely to impact on the inauguration of the thin-film CIGS cell industry. A rise in the price of indium is forecast as emerging CIGS and more established and steady LED and LCD markets compete for it, leading to a plan to stockpile the metal in the expectation of realising greater profits from it in the future (4).
Related Reading.
(1) http://blogs.forbes.com/energysource/2010/06/10/a-new-record-for-thin-film-solar/
(2) http://www.answers.com/topic/indium#cite_note-USGSCS2007-10
(3) http://blogs.forbes.com/energysource/2010/03/24/recycling-scrap-rare-metals-vital-to-future-technologies/
(4) http://seekingalpha.com/article/95798-smg-s-55-million-ipo-plan-stockpile-indium
Available link for download
Thursday, March 9, 2017
A Different Day But
A Different Day But
(The following posts were delayed because the power was cut off for long hours last days)
A group of talented artists, musicians and painters, gathered today in "Qishla" hall in Kerkuk playing ud and violins and exhibiting paintings. They were trying to give color and taste to an Iraqi day; trying to make it different.
They succeeded although the paintings were reflecting the every day pain and violence. The painters used bright colors giving some feeling to blood was shed before a while somewhere in Iraq.
Qishla, a Turkish word means the place where the army stay at the winter, built by the Otomans about 200 years ago. Qishla was maintained a decade ago and became the Kerkuk museum. As the other Iraqi museums, Qishla bombed, looted and burnt in 1991 and 2003.
The Union of the Turkmen Artists decided to maintain the old building and today they were showing their first activity. "We will survive", the music, paintings and the eyes were saying.
(........) the communist poet who left his southern town 30 years ago hiding himself in Kerkuk became a follower of Muqtada showing his "NO" to the occupation.. The poet told me, "They are working against us, the followers of Muqtada". Who are they? "Those who are working against the Iraqis". He answered adding," They arrested Abu Nadhim along with his four young sons and Abu Hameed with his three sons week ago. Then the freed them but keeping one son from each family arrested".
I closed my eyes trying to enjoy the music but a boom sound came forcing me back to the real life.. Is it life?
Since the sanctions I used to say, "I am surviving not living". I guess you know the difference between surviving and living.
The Union did an excellent job. Qishla became a wonderful piece of architect yet one can feel its wounds while touching the white gypsum walls.
On my way back home; an ID exploded targeting a police patrol. The incident took place in a crowded place. Two policemen and four civilians were killed.
I am writing now while it is raining outside. The first drops paving the way for the winter.
WINTER, the season I love. Do I love it till now? I could not answer. The rain is knocking the window; recalling the previous winters. How warm were the previous winters when love and dream were possible without any fear. Love became pain in Iraq. the Americans "friendly bullet" or a car bomb can easily steal the beloved persons. How much the heart, any heart, can bear losing the beloved persons?
Written on Sep 30th.
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Wednesday, February 8, 2017
A Gloomy but Lovely Weekend Recap
A Gloomy but Lovely Weekend Recap
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