Removal of dust particles from the surface of solar cells and solar collectors using surfactants

One of the challenges that face the operation of solar cells and solar collectors in sandy areas is the deposition of sand particles on the glass-surface of the cells and collectors. The objective of this research is to remove the deposited particles using a surfactant with the minimum amount of water utilization. Three types of surfactants have been examined; anionic, cationic and zwitterionic. The influence of a surfactant on removal of sand particles from a fouled surface has been examined under the microscope. It is found that the most effective surfactant is the anionic, and the least effective is the cationic in case of purely sand particles. This could be due to the repulsive forces between the negatively charged sand particles and the negatively charged molecules of the anionic surfactant, which repel and remove the deposited sand particles. Cationic surfactants are positively charged, which causes adhesion to the sand particles, and no removal takes place. Another set of experiments is performed utilizing sand particles covered with carbon particles. It found that the most effective surfactant is the cationic, and the least effective is the anionic, which is opposite to the behaviour of the surfactant with purely sand particles, and that is due to the positive charge on the carbon particles. It can be concluded that the surfactant behaviour is dependent on the electrical charge of the deposited particles. The influence of the zwitterionic is between the influence of the anionic and the cationic surfactants and depends on the ph value of the water used.