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Experimental investigations for recycling of silicon and glass from waste photovoltaic modules

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  • Kang, Sukmin
  • Yoo, Sungyeol
  • Lee, Jina
  • Boo, Bonghyun
  • Ryu, Hojin

Abstract

This paper reports a new procedure for the recovery of resources from waste photovoltaic modules. The tempered glass was recovered using organic solvents. The metal impurities were removed by applying a chemical etching solution on the surface of the PV cell. We offer a much more efficient approach for recycling PV cells than the conventional method. The highest yield of silicon recovered was 86% when the PV cell was placed in the chemical etching solution for 20 min, along with the surfactant, which accounted for 20% of the total solution's weight at room temperature. This investigation showed that a high yield of pure silicon with purity of 99.999% could be obtained. The recovered pure silicon from waste PV modules would be contributed to the solution of several problems such as the supply of silicon, manufacturing costs, and end-of-life management of PV modules.

Suggested Citation

  • Kang, Sukmin & Yoo, Sungyeol & Lee, Jina & Boo, Bonghyun & Ryu, Hojin, 2012. "Experimental investigations for recycling of silicon and glass from waste photovoltaic modules," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 152-159.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:47:y:2012:i:c:p:152-159
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2012.04.030
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bruton, TM, 1995. "Current status: Production of high efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 299-302.
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    3. Klugmann-Radziemska, Ewa & Ostrowski, Piotr, 2010. "Chemical treatment of crystalline silicon solar cells as a method of recovering pure silicon from photovoltaic modules," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 1751-1759.
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    1. Farrell, C.C. & Osman, A.I. & Doherty, R. & Saad, M. & Zhang, X. & Murphy, A. & Harrison, J. & Vennard, A.S.M. & Kumaravel, V. & Al-Muhtaseb, A.H. & Rooney, D.W., 2020. "Technical challenges and opportunities in realising a circular economy for waste photovoltaic modules," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    2. Cucchiella, Federica & D׳Adamo, Idiano & Rosa, Paolo, 2015. "End-of-Life of used photovoltaic modules: A financial analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 552-561.
    3. Jovan Tan & Shuyue Jia & Seeram Ramakrishna, 2022. "End-of-Life Photovoltaic Modules," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-16, July.
    4. Sica, Daniela & Malandrino, Ornella & Supino, Stefania & Testa, Mario & Lucchetti, Maria Claudia, 2018. "Management of end-of-life photovoltaic panels as a step towards a circular economy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2934-2945.
    5. Jongwon Ko & Kyunghwan Kim & Ji Woo Sohn & Hongjun Jang & Hae-Seok Lee & Donghwan Kim & Yoonmook Kang, 2023. "Review on Separation Processes of End-of-Life Silicon Photovoltaic Modules," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-20, May.
    6. Domínguez, Adriana & Geyer, Roland, 2019. "Photovoltaic waste assessment of major photovoltaic installations in the United States of America," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 1188-1200.
    7. Andrea Mulazzani & Panagiotis Eleftheriadis & Sonia Leva, 2022. "Recycling c-Si PV Modules: A Review, a Proposed Energy Model and a Manufacturing Comparison," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-19, November.
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    10. El-Khawad, Livia & Bartkowiak, Dorota & Kümmerer, Klaus, 2022. "Improving the end-of-life management of solar panels in Germany," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    11. B. T. Wittbrodt & J.M. Pearce, 2015. "Total U.S. cost evaluation of low-weight tension-based photovoltaic flat-roof mounted racking," Post-Print hal-02119670, HAL.
    12. Jun-Kyu Lee & Jin-Seok Lee & Young-Soo Ahn & Gi-Hwan Kang, 2019. "Restoring the Reactivity of Organic Acid Solution Used for Silver Recovery from Solar Cells by Fractional Distillation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-9, July.
    13. Paiano, Annarita, 2015. "Photovoltaic waste assessment in Italy," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 99-112.
    14. Ansanelli, G. & Fiorentino, G. & Tammaro, M. & Zucaro, A., 2021. "A Life Cycle Assessment of a recovery process from End-of-Life Photovoltaic Panels," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    15. Tammaro, Marco & Rimauro, Juri & Fiandra, Valeria & Salluzzo, Antonio, 2015. "Thermal treatment of waste photovoltaic module for recovery and recycling: Experimental assessment of the presence of metals in the gas emissions and in the ashes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 103-112.
    16. Ornella Malandrino & Daniela Sica & Mario Testa & Stefania Supino, 2017. "Policies and Measures for Sustainable Management of Solar Panel End-of-Life in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-15, March.
    17. Deng, Rong & Chang, Nathan L. & Ouyang, Zi & Chong, Chee Mun, 2019. "A techno-economic review of silicon photovoltaic module recycling," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 532-550.
    18. Domínguez, Adriana & Geyer, Roland, 2017. "Photovoltaic waste assessment in Mexico," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 29-41.
    19. Yan Li & Ge Wang & Bo Shen & Qi Zhang & Boyu Liu & Ruoxi Xu, 2021. "Conception and policy implications of photovoltaic modules end‐of‐life management in China," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 10(1), January.
    20. Renata Włodarczyk, 2022. "Analysis of the Photovoltaic Waste-Recycling Process in Polish Conditions—A Short Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-21, April.

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