A new study has found that chemical used to make tofu and bath salts could also replace a highly toxic and expensive substance used to make solar cells.
According to University of Liverpool researchers, cadmium chloride, which is a highly toxic soluble compound used in making solar panels, requires elaborate safety measures to protect workers during manufacture, but it can be replaced it with magnesium chloride, which is extracted from seawater and is already used in products such as tofu, bath salts and for de-icing roads.
As per the study, even the cost of producing can be reduced by making the replacement as it is as effective as the expensive and toxic alternative.
The study was published in journal Nature.