3 years ago
Can solar thermal surfaces be made from recycled aluminum?
I just read this:
If an aluminum can producer redirected their production of 110 billion cans in a year to the production of solar thermal surfaces, they could create 200 GW of energy.
And I wonder if used cans can become panels.
If an aluminum can producer redirected their production of 110 billion cans in a year to the production of solar thermal surfaces, they could create 200 GW of energy.
And I wonder if used cans can become panels.
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M$1 Answer
Recycled aluminum is as good as aluminum produced from bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum so yes used cans could become panels. This brings to mind some questions of how practical this would be though. How much surface area would the collectors to create 200 GW of energy be? What material would replace the beverage cans and what would the net energy use be? Does replacing aluminum cans with glass bottles produce a net energy benefit?
Recycling aluminum saves about 95% of the energy it would take to produce aluminum from its original source, bauxite. Over 50% of the aluminum cans produced are recycled already
Recycling aluminum saves about 95% of the energy it would take to produce aluminum from its original source, bauxite. Over 50% of the aluminum cans produced are recycled already
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
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