Life cycle assessment of nano-silica coating for solar photovoltaic panel
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Abstract
Accumulation of dust, sand, water, or any pollution plume affects the efficiency of photovoltaic panels (PVs) by obstructing light transmittance to each PV module. This study prepared nano-silica with superhydrophobic and self-cleaning properties for coating on PVs. The Stöber process was used as a selective method to synthesize the nano-silica particles. Life cycle assessment was used to evaluate and compare the total environmental impact of coated and uncoated PV. The nano-silica coating was applied on PVs using a spraying technique and tested for efficiency in Pathum Thani and Chiang Rai provinces, Thailand. Centrum voor Milieukunde Leiden (CML) method, a common method for chemical products, was selected as the life cycle impact assessment method, which is commonly used for chemical products. The functional unit was defined as 1 kWh of electricity produced, with the lifetime of a PV being 25 years. The results showed that the efficiency improvement from the coating material could reduce the environmental impact by 2.08% compared to the uncoated PV. However, in the assessment, the impact on photochemical oxidation slightly increased from the additional chemical consumption for the nano-silica coating preparation.
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