Response from: Fresh flowers

Does it matter if the sand is black or not?

Response from: Eric Roston

Thanks for the question. Black sand, in the scheme of things is pretty rare. Black-sand beaches turn up around volcanic formations, and the color is s function of the molecules inside it and the grains' shape, which is related to how quickly it cools. Generally, black sand beaches are rare--and thus protected. Silicon is mined from various places, underground or surface-level formations, including the SiO2 in sand. The first thing that happens in crystalline silicon production is whatever the source is, granular sand or silicon from other formations, it's melted and purified. So the closer the starting material is to pure silicon or SiO2, the more economical and efficient crystal production will be. Black sand has more impurities than quartz sand (SiO2), and therefore a more energy-intensive process. Also, again, a lot of the black-sand beaches are protected.