Non Toxic Solar Panels

Environmental scientists and solar industry leaders are raising the red flag about used solar panels which contain toxic heavy metals and are considered hazardous waste.

Non toxic solar panels.

However solar panels are not emitting toxins into the atmosphere as they re generating electricity. In collaboration with colleagues at mit the national renewable energy laboratory and colorado school of mines in the us the cambridge researchers have shown that bismuth which sits next to lead in the periodic table could be a non toxic alternative to lead for use in next generation solar cells. Their work was published online june 11 in chemistry of materials. A team of engineers at washington university in st.

With recycling expensive. Silicon solar panels can contain trace amounts of lead in the glass that encases the cells active components but it is insoluble. In contrast perovskite compounds readily dissolve in water. Additionally to produce solar panels manufacturers need to handle toxic chemicals.