Photovoltaics

Producing high-quality PV cells requires high-quality water filtration in your process.

As the demand for renewable energy like solar continues to grow, so will your need to produce high-quality PV cells to support that growth. Any particles in the water used in your conversion process can reduce the effectiveness and yield of your PV cells. 3M filtration products can help ensure you’re using high quality water in your process to get the highest quality results.

Infographic illustration detailing a filtration process map for Photovoltaics

Applications for Photovoltaics

3M has partnered with our customers for more than 100 years to develop innovative filtration and purification products. Let us help you meet the rapidly changing landscape of manufacturing PV cells for the renewable energy sector.

UltraPure Water

UltraPure water (UPW) is needed to remove contaminants when cutting PV cells. Any particles in your process water can reduce the quality of your finished product.

3M has filtration solutions to help ensure the water you use is converted to UPW, so you can have confidence in your process.

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Edge Bevel

After the cutting process all sharp edges need to be rounded and polished. That’s why you need high-quality filtered water to continuously rinse away the generated particles to avoid scratches during the edge bevel process.

3M has solutions to help keep your PV cells free of contaminants that could hinder performance during the edge bevel process.

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3M™ Betapure™ NT-T Series Filter Cartridge

Process Cooling Water

Certain manufacturing processes require equipment to maintain optimized thermal profiles. Temperature cycling, entrained air, contaminants, and poor water quality can lead to corrosion, scaling and other issues that may inhibit proper cooling and/or decrease service of water-cooled equipment. Proper water treatment allows water cooled equipment to function optimally during use.

3M has the filtration and gas management solutions to help control contaminant and entrained gas in your process cooling water loops to enable a more efficient and stable operation.

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Conductive Ink

It’s crucial that the conductive ink you use in your process isn’t contaminated with oversize particles that can compromise the integrity of the printed circuit of your PV cells.

3M has conductive ink filtration solutions to help meet the needs of your process.

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Wastewater

Manufacturing PV cells generates large amounts of wastewater that needs to be treated before being recycled or discharged.

3M has filtration solutions designed to address your filtration wastewater needs to either re-use in your process or to meet increasingly stringent discharge requirements.

3M™ Liqui-Cel™ Membrane Contactors are used in a variety of gas transfer applications to strip dissolved gases from aqueous fluids. In one specific use, ammonia gas is stripped from wastewater streams with a high concentration of ammonia, diffuses across the wall of a hollow fiber membrane, and is directly absorbed into a reactive acid solution.

This simultaneous removal and recovery of ammonia is possible in a single device. This process is called TMCS (Transmembrane Chemisorption).