Researchers develop new method to remove dust on solar panels
2019.12.10 From: helioscsp
Taking a cue from the self-cleaning properties of the lotus leaf, researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have shed new light on microscopic forces and mechanisms that can be optimized to remove dust from solar panels to maintain efficiency and light absorption. The new technique removed 98 percent of dust particles.
In a new study published in Langmuir, the researchers confirmed that modifying the surface properties of solar panels may greatly reduce the amount of dust remaining on the surface, and significantly increase the potential of solar energy harvesting applications in the desert.
Dust adhesion on solar panels is a major challenge to energy harvesting through photovoltaic cells and solar thermal collectors. New solutions are necessary to maintain maximum collection efficiency in high dust density areas such as the Negev desert in Israel.
«In nature, we observe that the lotus leaf remains dust and pathogen free due to its nanotextured surface, and a thin wax, hydrophobic coating that repels water,» says Tabea Heckenthaler, a master’s student from Düsseldorf Germany at the BGU Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research. «In the desert, dust accumulates on the surface of solar cells and it’s labor-intensive to clean them constantly, so we’re trying to mimic this behavior on a solar cell.»
The researchers explored the effect of modifying a silicon substrate (Si), a semiconductor used in photovoltaic cells, to mimic the self-cleaning properties of the lotus leaf, as water rolls down the leaves and removes contamination.
It is known that superhydrophobicity reduces the friction between water droplets and the surface, thus allowing water drops to slide clean particles from surfaces. However, the forces that attach and detach particles from surfaces during the self-cleaning mechanism and the effect of nanotextures on these forces are not fully understood.
To shed light on these forces and the effect of nanotexture on them, the researchers prepared four silicon-based samples relevant to solar panels: (1) smooth hydrophillic (2) nanotextured hydrophilic surfaces and (3) smooth hydrophobic (4) nanotextured hydrophobic surfaces. This was achieved by wet-chemically etching the surface to create nanowires on the surface, and additionally applying a hydrophobic coating.
Particle removal increased from 41 percent on hydrophilic smooth Si wafers to 98 percent on superhydrophobic Si-based nanotextured surfaces. The researchers confirmed these results by measuring the adhesion of a micron-sized particle to the flat and nanotextured substrate using an atomic force microscope. They found that the adhesion in water is reduced by a factor of 30.
"We determined that the reason for the increased particle removal is not low friction between the droplets and the superhydrophobic surfaces," Heckenthaler says. "Rather, it is the increase in the forces that can detach particles from the surfaces. The experimental methods we used and the criterion for particle removal we derived can be implemented to engineer self-cleaning surfaces exhibiting different chemistries and/or textures."
Upcoming CSP events:
10th CSP Focus China 2020 (March.25-26, Beijing China)
5th CSP Focus MENA 2020(June.23-24,Dubai, UAE)
More CSP news and reports please visit www.cspfocus.cn
or CSP Focus social media on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook.
More from CSP Focus
NextDewa awards advisory contract for Dubai’s Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park
Saudi Arabia to tender 2,225MW solar in 2019 and targets 2.7GW CSP in 2030
Tender of Feasibility Study on Molten Salt TES Integration to Thermal Power Plant Won by IMPSDI
Global Concentrating Solar Power Updates丨CSP Focus Monthly November 2019
Morocco Noor II Project was Combined to the Grid Successfully
Half of main participants in Dubai world largest CSP project are Chinese (Supplier List attached)
Leave your thoughts here
Reports(Member Only)
See more+-
CSP Project Monthly Update 2022 July Edition
CSP Focus is presenting CSP Project (China) Update 2022 July Edition.Detail report is available for CSP Focus Membership.
-
The Latest CSP Focus Monthly Update
Join CSP Focus Membership to Get the Latest CSP Focus Monthly Update July Edition.
-
Presentations-CSP Focus China 2021
The Report is for CSP Focus Members only.
-
Presentations-CSP Focus China 2020
The Report is for CSP Focus Members only
Upcoming Events
See more+-
12th CSP Focus China 2022
2022.04.21-22 Beijing
-
11th CSP Focus China 2021
2021.10.28-29 Beijing
-
10th CSP Focus China 2020
2020.10.22-23 Beijing, China
Project Updates
See more+-
Luneng Haixi 50MW Molten Salt Tower CSP Project
Asia Pacific-China,Under construction,Power Tower
-
Dubai 950MW NOOR Energy 1 CSP+PV Project
MENA-UAE,Under construction,Power Tower
-
Power China Gonghe 50MW Molten Salt Tower CSP Project
Asia Pacific-China,Under construction,Power Tower
-
Supcon Delingha 50MW Molten Salt Tower CSP Project
Asia Pacific-China,Under construction,Power Tower