L R AS Published on Sunday 8 October 2023 - n° 460 - Categories:R&D
Manufacturing silicon using a hydrogen plasma process; a solar watermaker
A young Swedish company, Green14, is planning to build a pilot reactor to manufacture solar-grade silicon using a hydrogen plasma process. This would be a step towards using a more sustainable method.
to produce solar-grade silicon for the photovoltaic industry in its own gigawatt-scale plant.
The hydrogen plasma acts as a quartz reducer to remove the oxygen from the silicon dioxide. It also acts as a refining step because of the very high temperatures in the plasma section. Green hydrogen represents an alternative to the use of coal and chlorine as process reagents in conventional solar silicon production processes.
This process is capable of delivering silicon at purity levels of 5N to 6N (99.999% to 99.9999%).
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Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a high-flow solar water desalter, using a multi-stage system of evaporators and condensers. It creates cost-effective solar desalination, making solar-powered drinking water cheaper than tap water for the first time.
"This circulation, combined with the sun's heat, causes the water to evaporate, leaving behind the salt. The resulting water vapour can then be condensed and collected as pure drinking water. Meanwhile, any remaining salt continues to circulate through and out of the appliance, rather than accumulating and clogging the system.
