Recycling Si-kerf from photovoltaics: A very promising route to thermoelectrics

Mesaritis, G.; Symeou, Elli; Delimitis, A.; Oikonomidis, S.; Jaegle, M.; Tarantik, Karina R.; Nicolaou, Ch.; Kyratsi, Theodora

doi:10.1016/j.jallcom.2018.10.050

Cited by 26 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…As mentioned in Section 2.1.2, Si obtained from recycled sawing waste was used as a starting material to synthesize Mg 2 Si compounds. [ 40,45,47 ] The similar TE performance of samples synthesized from waste Si with that of compounds synthesized from commercial‐grade high‐purity silicon confirms the great potential of using Si kerf for TE applications. However, He et al [ 39 ] suggested direct utilization of recycled Si as TE material by applying industrially developed methods such as ball milling and the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique.…”

Section: Use Of Wastes In the Synthesis Of Te Materialsmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…During the cutting of Si ingots with wire, 40% of Si is wasted (kerf), and there is an annual loss of 2 billion USD dollars just during the cutting of Si wafers. [ 39,40 ] Mg‐alloy scrap originates from end‐of‐life vehicles or chips produced during the manufacturing processes. The extraction of Mg ore is extremely expensive because of high energy consumption, so the recycling of Mg alloy will undoubtedly become important.…”

Section: Use Of Wastes In the Synthesis Of Te Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, Mesaritis et al [ 40,49 ] processed slurry waste from cutting Si wafers to obtain powders with high Si concentration for the synthesis of Mg 2 Si 1− x − y Sn x Ge y ‐based TE materials using a modified three‐step method. [ 50 ] Since the slurry obtained from cutting Si wafers contains Si, SiC, wire metal, glue, and polyethylene glycol, the group attempted to remove all unwanted organic components and to separate Si from SiC by using the following procedure: i) first, an acetone wash was applied to the slurry to remove glycol solution, ii) second, acid dissolution with HNO 3 solution was used to remove Fe particles, iii) third, Si and SiC were separated based on their density difference using a heavy liquid of sodium polytungstate in water with a density of 2.8 g cm −3 , and iv) finally, Si and SiC were washed with water.…”

Section: Use Of Wastes In the Synthesis Of Te Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This could be attributed to the presence of impurities such as SiC and metallic particles with high κ in the matrix phase of the studied materials. To better evaluate the contribution of SiC and metallic particles, Mesaritis et al, [ 40 ] estimated the lattice thermal conductivity via the subtraction of electronic contribution for the total thermal conductivity using the Wiedemann–Frantz law (κ e = LσT , where L is the Lorentz factor). They observed clearly that the lattice thermal conductivity is higher for the KERF samples due to the contribution of the high thermal conductivity SiC material.…”

Section: Use Of Wastes In the Synthesis Of Te Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, this increase in κ conflicts with the previously reported reduction in κ l of Mg 2 Si 0.7 Ge 0.3 by the addition of SiC nanoparticles. [ 58 ] This inconsistency could be explained by the fact that the Mesaritis et al [ 40 ] study documented micrometer‐sized SiC particles. Samples synthesized from sludge Si can reach zT ≈ 1 and 1.3 depending on their chemical composition (Figure 5e).…”

Section: Use Of Wastes In the Synthesis Of Te Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Waste Recycling in Thermoelectric Materials

Bahrami

Schierning

Nielsch

2020

Advanced Energy Materials

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power plants, factories, motor vehicles, computers, or even human bodies into electricity. TEGs are suitable for small applications because of their compatibility, simplicity, and scalability. For example, electricity can be generated from small heat sources and by taking advantage of small temperature differences for powering wristwatches or wearable devices such as miniaturized accelerometers or electroencephalography (EEG) devices. [3,4] However, low efficiency and high fabrication cost are the main disadvantages of TEGs which hinder their vast application in the market. Although many studies have explored the ways to increase the efficiency of TEGs in converting the thermal to electric energy, cost of TE materials synthesis and miniaturized TEGs fabrication has not been addressed widely.TEGs require materials with high electrical conductivities and low thermal conductivities, as well as high thermopower (Seebeck coefficient, S) which in turn constrains the types of materials that can be used as a TE material. The direct conversion of thermal to electrical energy in response to a temperature gradient across a material can be calculated by using the following equationwhere ΔV is the generated voltage, S is the Seebeck coefficient or thermopower, and ΔT is the temperature difference. The performance of a TE material is defined by the dimensionless figure of merit (zT), which relates the material properties to its conversion efficiency, in the following way 2 l e ZT S T σ κ κ ) ( = +where σ is the electrical conductivity, κ l and κ e are the lattice and electronic contributions to the thermal conductivity of TE material, respectively, and T is the absolute temperature. High S 2 σ (power factor, PF) and low thermal conductivity, κ = κ l + κ e , lead to better performance. In practice, however, the mutual dependence between these material properties makes an optimization of zT difficult. For many decades since the 1950s, when research and development of bulk homogenous materials for TE applications started to increase, research and development efforts focused on elements derived from raw materials for synthesizing TE materials. The compounds synthesized from raw elements such as Thermoelectric (TE) technology enables the efficient conversion of waste heat generated in homes, transport, and industry into promptly accessible electrical energy. Such technology is thus finding increasing applications given the focus on alternative sources of energy. However, the synthesis of TE materials relies on costly and scarce elements, which are also environmentally damaging to extract. Moreover, spent TE modules lead to a waste of resources and cause severe pollution. To address these issues, many laboratory studies have explored the synthesis of TE materials using wastes and the recovery of scarce elements from spent modules, e.g., utilization of Si slurry as starting materials, development of biodegradable TE papers, and bacterial recovery and recycling of tellurium from spent TE modules. Yet, the outcomes of such work have no...

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Section: Use Of Wastes In the Synthesis Of Te Materialsmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Use Of Wastes In the Synthesis Of Te Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Use Of Wastes In the Synthesis Of Te Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Use Of Wastes In the Synthesis Of Te Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Use Of Wastes In the Synthesis Of Te Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Waste Recycling in Thermoelectric Materials

Bahrami

Schierning

Nielsch

2020

Advanced Energy Materials

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Photovoltaic Modules Waste Management: Ethical Issues for Developing Nations

Okoroigwe

Ajayi

et al. 2020

Energy Tech

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Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are composed of modules and batteries characterized by depreciable, short lifespans. A survey was carried out to ascertain the level of awareness of the management of used PV modules in developing countries. Even though the respondents are aware of the environmental and health risks of the chemical components of the modules, nothing is being done presently to recycle or plan for the management of the items at end‐of‐life (EoL) period in developing countries. Whereas PV modules at EoL are being reprocessed by recycling in developed countries like the EU, it is not being considered as a health and environmental challenge, as for other electronic wastes in developing countries. Herein, the status and ethical challenges of PV waste generation in developing countries are discussed. Data from a structured survey instrument are obtained, analyzed, and discussed for determining the precursory method to avoid PV wastes in developing countries. It is observed that soon when most installations will be decommissioned, the developing nations will begin to experience a huge collection of PV wastes like other electronic gadgets and be exposed to the dangers of electronic waste pollution if necessary legislative programs are neglected.

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Thermally Sprayed Functional Coatings and Multilayers: A Selection of Historical Applications and Potential Pathways for Future Innovation

Gildersleeve

Vaßen

2023

J Therm Spray Tech

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Thermal spray coatings are material systems with unique structures and properties that have enabled the growth and evolution of key modern technologies (i.e., gas turbines, structurally integrated components, etc.). The inherent nature of these sprayed coatings, such as their distinctive thermal and mechanical properties, has been a driving force for maintaining industrial interest. Despite these benefits and proven success in several fields, the adoption of thermal spray technology in new applications (i.e., clean energy conversion, semiconductor thermally sprayed materials, biomedical applications, etc.) at times, however, has been hindered. One possible cause could be the difficulty in concurrently maintaining coating design considerations while overcoming the complexities of the coatings and their fabrication. For instance, a coating designer must consider inherent property anisotropy, in-flight decomposition of molten material (i.e., loss of stoichiometry), and occasionally the formation of amorphous materials during deposition. It is surmisable for these challenges to increase the risk of adoption of thermal spray technology in new fields. Nevertheless, industries other than those already mentioned have benefited from taking on the risk of implementing thermal spray coatings in their infrastructure. Benefits can be quantified, for example, based on reduced manufacturing cost or enhanced component performance. In this overview paper, a historical presentation of the technological development of thermal spray coatings in several of these industries is presented. Additionally, emerging industries that have not yet attained this level of thermal spray maturation will also be discussed. Finally, where applicable, the utility and benefits of multilayer functional thermal spray coating designs will be demonstrated.

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Recycling Si-kerf from photovoltaics: A very promising route to thermoelectrics

Cited by 26 publications

References 24 publications

Waste Recycling in Thermoelectric Materials

Waste Recycling in Thermoelectric Materials

Photovoltaic Modules Waste Management: Ethical Issues for Developing Nations

Thermally Sprayed Functional Coatings and Multilayers: A Selection of Historical Applications and Potential Pathways for Future Innovation

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