tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864176.post2684151118572850976..comments2023-12-01T16:56:04.415+11:00Comments on Peak Energy: The Fort Collins DilemmaBig Gavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682404837426502876noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864176.post-44601045416180234552007-12-01T19:32:00.000+11:002007-12-01T19:32:00.000+11:00I suspect you are talking about amorphous silicon:...I suspect you are talking about amorphous silicon:<BR/><BR/>http://thefraserdomain.typepad.com/energy/2005/08/about_amorphous.htmlBig Gavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00682404837426502876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864176.post-30748170392229970452007-12-01T16:46:00.000+11:002007-12-01T16:46:00.000+11:00It's in situ leaching, not "in situ mining." "In s...It's in situ <I>leaching</I>, not "in situ mining." "In situ" just means "in place", all mining happens at the mine, so all mining is "in situ mining." <BR/><BR/>The "leaching" comes from pouring a shitload of acids into the earth and waiting for the uranium to dissolve out, you then pump the acids out and precipitate the uranium out chemically. It takes several years from the first umping of acid before you get any uranium out, it uses gazillions of litres of water, you have to have big settling pools (the wall on one in Australia recently collapsed, spilling the stuff everywhere) and it's very polluting.<BR/><BR/>At the moment, as you've said before, Gav, production of solar panels uses a lot of power and resources because it uses the leftovers from microchip silicon. That stuff has to be very pure, stuff for panels not so much. So the solar panel production needn't be so energy-intensive, if the silicon's made specifically for it.<BR/><BR/>If they have to choose between solar and nuclear, they should choose solar, as cadmium is less of a poison than uranium, all the acids and bases involved, the settling ponds, and radioactive waste. <BR/><BR/>But of course as you say, solar thermal is a much better option, and then of course they don't need pure silicon at all. Shiny metal of just about any kind will do. <BR/><BR/>Funny how these things are so often viewed as either/or. I guess they never heard of that "synergy" thing, or "complementary effects" and so on.Hanley Tuckshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13047638048463160737noreply@blogger.com