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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. 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.
    2. Bruton, TM, 1995. "Current status: Production of high efficiency monocrystalline silicon solar cells," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 6(3), pages 299-302.
    3. McDonald, N.C. & Pearce, J.M., 2010. "Producer responsibility and recycling solar photovoltaic modules," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 7041-7047, November.
    4. Fthenakis, Vasilis M., 2000. "End-of-life management and recycling of PV modules," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(14), pages 1051-1058, November.
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    6. 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.
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    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. 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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    20. Jovan Tan & Shuyue Jia & Seeram Ramakrishna, 2022. "End-of-Life Photovoltaic Modules," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-16, July.

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