Cradle to Gate
Identity ID
fdc53461-3e7c-418f-a6ba-e2b543b4f312
Materials
Associated ID
e2adf54a-3fe7-4bc2-b7ee-4a8ed46badda
Included activities starts
Included activities ends
Description
Polycrystalline silicon wafers can be used in the production of photovoltaic cells. They are sliced from silicon ingots into square wafers measuring 156 mm × 156 mm with a surface density of approximately 559 g/m². This dataset includes major raw and auxiliary materials, energy consumption, and waste generated during the production process. Infrastructure such as manufacturing of production equipment and facility construction is not included within the system boundary of the dataset. The life cycle inventory data are sourced from literature. The production process of polycrystalline silicon wafers includes ingot aligning and bonding, wire squaring, slurry mixing, debonding, water washing, chamfering and cropping, ultrasonic cleaning, ingot mounting, wire sawing, wafer cleaning, and testing procedures.
Activity Description
The production of multicrystalline silicon wafers includes processes such as ingot gluing, wire slicing, slurry mixing, de-adhesion, water washing, chamfering and cutting, ultrasonic cleaning, ingot bonding, wire saw wafering, wafer cleaning, and testing.
Process Description
The product represents 1 m2 of multicrystalline silicon wafers used for producing photovoltaic cells, which are cut from pure silicon ingots. Multicrystalline silicon consists of many small silicon crystals, whereas monocrystalline silicon consists of a single continuous crystal. Multicrystalline cells typically have lower efficiency than monocrystalline photovoltaic cells.
Time period
2012
2026
Geography
China
Macroeconomic value
Business-as-Usual
Data validation
Yes
Technology
Current Technology
Technology comment
The production of multicrystalline silicon wafers includes processes such as ingot gluing, wire slicing, slurry mixing, de-adhesion, water washing, chamfering and cutting, ultrasonic cleaning, ingot bonding, wire saw wafering, wafer cleaning, and testing.