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ePaper created 2014-04-30, 16:22:09 | version 1.30.01
FOCUS// The HZDR Research Magazine WWW.Hzdr.DE 08 09 _TEXT . Christine Bohnet Waste that is brimming with energy The semiconducting material silicon is found on our rooftops in ultrathin slices, packaged inside solar modules that for the most part were cheaply produced in Asia. A substantial portion of this silicon, which was won at the expense of high energy input, is lost as early as the wafer production process. When slicing large blocks of silicon, fine silicon powder is produced as a by-product. What is frustrating is the fact that just as much raw material ends up being wasted as the amount of material that ultimately ends up as part of the slice. This is due to the fact that the saw that is used - a wire made from silicon carbide or even from diamond - is almost as thick as the slice itself. What if it were possible to capture the sawdust, re-melt it, and, in doing so, substantially increase the material and energy efficiency of solar silicon? Such was the question asked by the Italian company GARBO and physicist Sven Eckert of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden- Rossendorf, who recently took on the role of coordinator of the EU project SIKELOR, which the Universities of Greenwich, UK, and Padua, Italy, as well as Chemnitz-based EAAT, a medium-size German company, are all involved in as well. Sven Eckert describes the challenges the EU partners are finding themselves faced with in terms of raw material processing as follows: "The silicon chippings that end up // It's a well-known fact that the energy yield from solar modules like the ones found in large energy parks or on the rooftops of private homes all across the country is decidedly small while the energy investment required for their production is all the bigger. Production waste recycling just might turn out to be a real magic spell. Photo: © il-fede – fotolia.de