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A group of scientists from the United States saw “encouraging” results after testing the commercialization of novel coating materials in field tests, since the coating only increases the total cost of a panel by 1.4%.
Scientists at Madison Area Technical College in the United States have tested self-cleaning and anti-fouling superhydrophobic coatings that, if applied to photovoltaic modules, can supposedly increase the performance of the panels by more than 3%.
The coatings are based on suspensions of oxide nanoparticles developed by the American company Microporous Oxides Science and Technology, LLC (MOST), specialized in the preparation of stable suspensions of nanoparticulate oxides for use as coatings on various substrates in order to produce films. self-assembled porous fines for a wide variety of applications.
In particular, the researchers tested anti-fouling coatings created through spray deposition and sol-gel synthesis, a wet chemical technique commonly used for the production of glassy and ceramic materials. The coatings were made with a nanoparticulate suspension containing a mixture of titania, titanium oxide (TiO2), silica, silicon dioxide (SiO2) and metal oxides.
The advantage of using sol-gel synthesis is that no heat is used for the coating to adhere to the underlying glass cover of the PV module, allowing the films to consolidate, cure, adhere and harden upon exposure to light. solar on the ground.
“Thin metal oxide films containing nanoparticulate photoactive materials, such as titania, are capable of sintering upon excitation by ultraviolet radiation,” the scientists explain. “This sunlight-induced sintering process serves to chemically bond the nanoparticles to each other and to the glass surface of the solar photovoltaic module, creating a thin film that is durable and resistant to wear and dissolution.”
The research team coated the solar modules in a car repair booth with two different guns and nozzles. “After spraying, the modules were allowed to air dry in the spray booths, which were maintained at a relative humidity of 15%,” the scientists explain.
Next, they tested the coating on a photovoltaic system based on eight 370W coated bifacial modules facing south and mounted with a 10-degree shingle angle provided by Jordan-based Philadelphia Solar. Its performance was compared to eight uncoated reference panels of the same type.
Field tests showed that the dirt residue on the coated modules was finer than that on the uncoated panels.
“Coated and uncoated solar modules also showed significantly different field wetting behavior, easily visible to the naked eye,” the research group states in the report. “Rain deposited on the uncoated panels tended to accumulate, forming drops on the surface. By comparison, rain on coated panels tended to form sheets, wetting a much larger portion of the panel surface.”
The analysis showed that the coated panels achieved an annual energy production of 1,097 kWh/kW, while the uncoated modules achieved a performance of 1,058 kWh/kW. “Although an energy gain of between 3 and 3.5% may seem modest, improvements of this magnitude would have significant financial importance for the industry,” the researchers noted.
They also specified that the cost of thin film coating materials is approximately $80 per liter and estimated the cost per panel at about $2.6, which would represent an increase of about 1.4% in the total cost of the panel. “It seems clear that the MOST coatings tested in this study have great potential to be a commercially viable product for solar panel manufacturing.”
The novel anti-fouling coating was presented in the study “ Field tests of a self-sintering, anti-soiling, self-cleaning, nanoporous metal oxide, transparent thin film coating for solar photovoltaic modules ” of nanoporous, sintered, anti-fouling and self-cleaning metal oxide for photovoltaic solar modules), published in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells .
“As of August 2023, we have successfully coated modules from several different manufacturers, including Adani, Axitec, Crossroads, REC, Silfab, Trina and Yingli,” the scientists note, referring to the future direction of their work. “We hope to report on field testing with those coated modules in the next year or two.” |
