% EVs in PVs %
http://why.knovel.com/all-engineering-news/3462-recycled-lead-from-car-batteries-to-fuel-perovskite-solar-panels.html Recycled lead from car batteries to fuel perovskite solar panels August 18, 2014 [image http://pictures.brafton.com/new-research-from-MIT-will-soon-allow-for-the-recycling-of-depleted-car-batteries-by-turning-them-into-solar-panels_31_657401_1_14103206_900.jpg (12V PbSO4 battery) ] ... Most people know that you can recycle aluminum cans and plastic bottles, but new research from MIT will soon allow for the recycling of depleted car batteries by turning them into solar panels. Old lead, new tech Recently, Angela M. Belcher, PhD, Paula T. Hammon, PhD and a handful of graduate students at MIT has described this novel system in the journal Energy and Environmental Science. The science is based on the unique properties of perovskite, a mineral that is making waves because of its remarkable potential for solar panels. Perovskite, specifically, organolead halide perovskite, has been used to great effect in making affordable, highly efficient solar cells. In just a few years, perovskite went from being an obtuse mineral, to one of the most promising materials in solar research. Already, researchers have been able to make photovoltaic cells that have close to a 19 percent power-conversion efficiency, which is nearly equivalent with some of the best silicon-based solar cells currently available on the market. However, perovskite solar cells require the use of refined lead, which, though relatively innocuous, needs to be processed from raw ore. This procedure creates significant toxic residue, which has led early studies into perovskite as a material for the construction of solar cells have identified the use of lead as a major problem. However, by taking advantage of abundant sources of refined lead from car batteries, this potential issue becomes insignificant. This research represents more than an alternative source of lead. If acted on, this recycling method will reduce the number of car batteries dumped in landfills significantly. More importantly, this is not a compromise or a second-rate solution. Since the perovskite photovoltaic material is only a thin film that is less than half a micrometer thick, the MIT research demonstrates that the lead from a single car battery could produce enough solar panels to power as many as 30 households. Perovskite solar cells are fairly simple to produce, and it will be even easier if engineers can supply their factories with recycled lead from batteries instead of needing to refine it from raw ore. Phasing out batteries This comes at a fortuitous time for both the industries of solar panels and automobiles. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, there were 1,191,786 alternative fuel vehicles in use in 2011. That number has risen significantly in the past three years, especially with the introduction of electric car manufacturers like Tesla to the market. With this technology trending, it is only a matter of time before old-fashioned lead car batteries are a thing of the past. According to Belcher, "Once the battery technology evolves, over 200 million lead-acid batteries will potentially be retired in the United States, and that could cause a lot of environmental issues." Car batteries have been recycled for years, but according to the article, 90 percent of the lead recovered from recycled car batteries is used to make new batteries. However, when the market for lead-acid batteries deflates, then there will be no devisable purpose for depleted batteries. It is very likely that without this research, many of those batteries would end up in landfills where the lead would seep into ground water, causing significant environmental problems in the surrounding areas. If turned into solar panels, the lead would be fully protected by other materials, such as perovskite. This would contain the lead, keeping it from seeping and causing problems. When the solar cell is eventually retired, the lead could easily be retrieved and recycled into new solar cells since the lead would still be entirely reusable. Belcher and her team hope that their solution to the lead problem will be adopted by perovskite photovoltaics scientists, especially since their research demonstrates that recycled lead is just as potent and usable as freshly refined lead. As more factories are beginning to consider the very real possibility of mass producing perovskite solar panels in the near future, the potential for the use of car batteries could be a game changer. Solar power is one of the hottest new trends in alternative energy. Nearly every state in the country has initiated some kind of solar incentive plan, and it's not likely to slow down anytime soon. Perovskite solar panels will make this technology even more widely accessible. By using recycled car batteries, manufacturers will be removing toxic chemicals from landfills while providing affordable green energy. [© 2014 KNOVEL] ... http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2014/ee/c4ee00942h#!divAbstract Organohalide lead perovskites for photovoltaic applications ... http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jp409025w Organolead Halide Perovskite: New Horizons in Solar Cell Research For all EVLN posts use: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=evln&sort=date http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1094005_2014-bmw-i3-rex-vs-chevy-volt-range-extended-electric-cars-compared pih Compared> i3rex vs Volt, "It's not the car, it's you" http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/look-back-city-bounds-to-fourth-largest-in-nation-in/article_2a0f4ab7-1c05-58c5-b945-4514cb3dbb7d.html Lewis built his own EV in 1893 & got the 1st St Louis license in 1902 http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/morello-yamasakis-new-e-bike-nirbhaya-targets-women-riders/ Rs35k Nirbhaya' e-scooters targeting women rider's safety ... http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/now-nirbhaya-e-scooters-to-hit-the-market-114082000995_1.html http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/rollsroyce-puts-electric-plans-on-hold-20140818-1059ei.html Rolls-Royce EV plans on hold http://www.ktvn.com/story/26290997/electric-vehicle-charging-stations-now-available-at-sparks-city-hall EV Charging Stations Now Available at Sparks, NV City Hall + EVLN: Early 2010 i-Miev Still Soldiering-On After 4Years r:60ish-mi {brucedp.150m.com} -- View this message in context: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Recycling-spent-PbSO4-EV-pack-lead-into-solar-panels-tp4671179.html Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at Nabble.com. _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
