Environmental Assessment of Solar Cell Materials

E. Klugmann-Radziemska
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引用次数: 1

Abstract

Abstract In today’s world, fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and gas, are the primary energy sources from which electricity is obtained. As they are exhaustible and their exploitation has a negative impact on the natural environment, they should be, at least partially, replaced by renewable energy sources. The implementation of this goal depends on a number of factors, including social and political, the existence of investment support programmes, and the need to lower electricity prices and ensuring energy security. One of these sources is solar energy. Each year, the Earth receives around 1 · 1018 kWh of solar energy, which is more than 1000 times the current global energy demand. This is therefore a vast source of energy that can be tapped to satisfy human energy requirements. The use of solar energy releases no CO2, SO2, or NO2 gases, and does not contribute to global warming. Photovoltaics is one of the technologies that makes it possible to generate electricity in an environmentally friendly manner. By using the energy of solar radiation, a photovoltaic cell converts energy without emitting harmful substances to the atmosphere, noise, and waste. Photovoltaics is the cleanest technology among all the technologies that use renewable energy. Considering the shorter and shorter times needed to generate energy equal to that required by the module production process, during its lifetime it will produce much more electricity than was used to produce it. This results in a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. For example, during its lifetime, a 200 Wp module prevents the emission of over four tonnes (Mg = 106 g) of carbon dioxide. Although the technologies for the production of photovoltaic cells and modules entail a lower environmental burden compared to other sources of electricity, it is necessary to remember about the risks associated with the use of chemicals at the stage of module production, which threatens their release to groundwater or air, and the need to recycle modules after their disassembly. Also, the energy consumption in the production phase of PV systems significantly worsens the ecological balance. This article presents an analysis of the impact of the materials and technologies used on the result of the environmental analysis of PV installations. In the article a detailed energy balance analysis of the EPBT value has been carried out. The values of greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life cycle of the solar module were determined. Methods of limiting the impact of photovoltaic technologies on the natural environment were indicated.
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太阳能电池材料的环境评价
在当今世界,包括煤、石油和天然气在内的化石燃料是获得电力的主要能源。由于它们是可耗尽的,对它们的开采对自然环境有负面影响,它们至少应该部分地被可再生能源所取代。这一目标的实现取决于许多因素,包括社会和政治、投资支持方案的存在以及降低电价和确保能源安全的必要性。其中一种能源是太阳能。每年,地球接收约1·1018千瓦时的太阳能,这是目前全球能源需求的1000多倍。因此,这是一个巨大的能源来源,可以用来满足人类的能源需求。利用太阳能不会释放二氧化碳、二氧化硫或二氧化氮气体,也不会导致全球变暖。光伏发电是一种使以环保方式发电成为可能的技术。光伏电池利用太阳辐射的能量进行能量转换,不会向大气中排放有害物质、噪音和废物。光伏发电是所有使用可再生能源的技术中最清洁的技术。考虑到产生与模块生产过程相等的能量所需的时间越来越短,在其使用寿命期间,它将产生比用于生产它更多的电力。这导致了温室气体排放的减少。例如,在其使用寿命期间,200 Wp模块可防止排放超过4吨(Mg = 106 g)的二氧化碳。虽然与其他电力来源相比,光伏电池和组件的生产技术带来的环境负担较低,但有必要记住在组件生产阶段使用化学品的风险,这些化学品可能会释放到地下水或空气中,并且需要在组件拆卸后进行回收。光伏发电系统生产阶段的能源消耗严重破坏了生态平衡。本文介绍了对光伏装置环境分析结果所使用的材料和技术的影响的分析。本文对EPBT值进行了详细的能量平衡分析。确定了太阳能组件整个生命周期的温室气体排放值。指出了限制光伏技术对自然环境影响的方法。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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