Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) was established in 1953 under Societies Act to promote the cause of Science and Technology in the country. I remember their facility on Ferozpur road Lahore. PCSIR is one of the important research institution with a rich history and has evolved throughout the years.

In a recent blog post, a PCSIR officer mentioned the need and desire to work on cost-effective local solar cell production. We wish them the best of luck and hope that they are successful in getting the funds for such work.

A PCSIR officer said that “Rice husk contains 13 % oil which can be further processed to be used as biofuel. The remaining husk has a lot of quartz content which is needed to make solar cells. We have yet to determine the exact yield of quartz from rice husk, but initial tests have indicated a good percentage.”

It is to be noted that Pakistan is the world’s third largest rice producer and tons of rice husk is wasted or put to fire, which can be used in the production of low-cost, high quality solar cells.