A Review of Recycling Processes for Photovoltaic Modules

Abstract

The installations of photovoltaic (PV) solar modules are growing extremely fast. As a result of the increase, the volume of modules that reach the end of their life will grow at the same rate in the near future. It is expected that by 2050 that figure will increase to 5.5-6 million tons. Consequently, methods for recycling solar modules are being developed worldwide to reduce the environmental impact of PV waste and to recover some of the value from old modules. Current recycling methods can recover just a portion of the materials, so there is plenty of room for progress in this area. Currently, Europe is the only jurisdiction that has a strong and clear regulatory framework to support the PV recycling process. This review presents a summary of possible PV recycling processes for solar modules, including c-Si and thin-film technologies as well as an overview of the global legislation. So far, recycling processes of c-Si modules are unprofitable but are likely to be mandated in more jurisdictions. There is potential to develop new pathways for PV waste management industry development and offer employment and prospects for both public and private sector investors.

Design for Recycling Principles Applicable to Selected Clean Energy Technologies: Crystalline-Silicon Photovoltaic Modules, Electric Vehicle Batteries, and Wind Turbine Blades

“…This section starts with principles focused on the world's dominant PV technology, crystalline-silicon PV modules ("Crystalline-Silicon PV DfR Principles" section), followed by a short discussion of DfR considerations for thin-film PV modules, which hold the remaining market share ("Discussion of Thin-Film PV" section). Various crystalline-silicon PV module recycling concepts exist [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30], including three that have achieved pilot scale or larger: the hot-knife (thermal) glass separation process offered by NPC [18,19], a mechanical-only process run by Veolia in France [20][21][22][23], and a mechanical-chemical process designed in the Full Recovery End Life Photovoltaic (FRELP) research project-see the SI [15,24,25]. The basic design of crystalline-silicon modules has not changed for decades, although manufacturers have created thousands of variations.…”

Towards a circular supply chain for PV modules: Review of today's challenges in PV recycling, refurbishment and re‐certification

“…At research/pilot stage, a project funded by the Japanese Government, via the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), focuses on improving PV recycling processes for both c‐Si and thin film (CIS) modules, deploying furnace‐base pyrolysis of polymer sheets . In addition, similarly to First Solar's recycling technology, ANTEC Solar designed a pilot plant for recycling of CdTe/CdS thin film PV modules .…”

“…Recently, Wade et al presented a comprehensive decision tree (Figure ) depicting the different options for EoL management of decommissioned PV systems. A significant number of scientific studies and public reports, as well as research projects and collaborative platforms have attempted over the last years to shed light on these different EoL paths and processes, with a major focus on PV recycling technologies, high‐value material recovery, downstream EoL management models (collection‐transportation‐recycling) and life cycle analyses. So far, insights from the reported literature have been rather fragmented and somewhat one‐sided, largely focusing on PV recycling processes and relevant innovation efforts.…”

Private and Externality Costs and Benefits of Recycling Crystalline Silicon (c-Si) Photovoltaic Panels

“…If we performed the same analysis as Adamo, our result would show a USD 13/m 2 benefit, which is consistent with Adamo et al's result. Choi and Fthenakis calculated the net benefit as about 23 USD/module for thin-film CdTe PV technology [7,36]. The higher benefits from CdTe technology can be attributed to the high yields (>90%) of expensive materials (i.e., tellurium, cadmium) from the recycling of thin films.…”

“…Solar photovoltaic (PV) technology plays an increasingly important role as a key energy source [1,2] As this technology grows, it is important to ensure that each process in the life cycle of PVs is sustainable [3,4]. The environmental impacts from manufacturing and operation of solar PV panels have been widely studied [5,6] and more recently, there has been a growing interest in understanding the environmental impacts of the end-of-life (EoL) management of solar panels [7][8][9]. Solar panels last from 20-30 years before weather and external conditions necessitate their retirement [10,11].…”