End-of-Life CdTe PV Recycling with Semiconductor Refining

Ménard, Jean-Claude; Cossette, M.; Sinha, Parikhit

doi:10.4229/27theupvsec2012-6cv.4.9

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…-The Circular+Long-life (lime green): this scenario expands to include proposed silicon-perovskite tandems, assuming that the addition of the perovskite material and processing is negligible additional mass and energy. Most silicon-perovskite tandem designs are targeting high levels of material circularity through both remanufacturing glass and silicon and recycling [26,40,41], following in the footsteps of CdTe lifecycle management [42]. This scenario explores one potential future for siliconperovskite tandems in which improvements to lifetime are prioritized.…”

Section: Ambitiousmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prioritizing circular economy strategies for sustainable PV deployment at the TW scale

Mirletz,

Ovaitt,

Sridhar

et al. 2024

EPJ Photovolt.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Global decarbonization requires an unprecedented scale-up of photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing and deployment. The material demand and eventual end of life management associated with multi-TW scale deployment poses many challenges. Circular Economy (CE) and it's associated R-Actions (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) have been proposed to mitigate end of life management and material sourcing concerns. However, CE metrics typically focus on a single product and only consider mass, excluding energy flows. This work leverages the PV in Circular Economy (PV ICE) tool to quantify the deployment, mass, and energy impacts of R-Actions and proposed sustainable PV designs in the context of achieving energy transition deployment goals (75 TW in 2050). 13 module scenarios are established and evaluated across 6 capacity, mass and energy metrics to identify tradeoffs and priorities. We find that increasing module efficiency can reduce near-term material demands up to 30% and improve energy metrics by up to 9%. Material circularity (recycling) can minimize lifecycle wastes and reduce material demands at the cost of higher energy demands. Increasing module lifetime, including reliability improvements and reuse strategies, is effective at reducing both material (>10%) and energy demands (24%). Uniquely, lifetime improvements maximize benefits and minimize the harms across all six metrics while achieving multi-TW scale deployment.

show abstract

Section: Ambitiousmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prioritizing circular economy strategies for sustainable PV deployment at the TW scale

Mirletz,

Ovaitt,

Sridhar

et al. 2024

EPJ Photovolt.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Sustainable Attainment of Solar E-waste Recycling Concerning to COVID-19 Crisis: A Review

Jariwala¹,

Soni²

2021

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Green Societies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Solar energy is looked at as a critical component to fight against increased climate change. It is seen as the green solution for the increased demand in energy, but the problems that will occur after 20-30 years when these solar panels have to be disposed of are seldom considered. Due to increased growth in the development and utilization of solar energy resources, the disposal of waste solar panels has become problematic. Photovoltaic systems are in the lead because they are cost-effective, and it has increased efficiency. All these systems are expected to produce much e-waste by the end of their life cycle. Currently, the research is focused on how to increase the efficiency of solar panels rather than focusing on the disassembling and recycling of the panels. By recycling silicon-based solar panels, valuable metals within the panels can be recovered instead of lost to the landfill. Proper disposal of many compounds is not yet discovered; hence they are landfilled without any treatment, which causes harm to the environment. The environmental policies constrict market projections for Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) Photovoltaic (PV) because Cadmium has Carcinogenic properties. This paper aims to review the present and upcoming or subsequent recycling technologies for solar panels and produce a recycling technology that is most sustainable and likely to be acquired in the coming years. Although these technologies require advanced techniques and enhanced improvement before execution, when all these progressive technologies are combined, they will provide better recycling options for the generated solar e-waste.

show abstract

Metallurgical infrastructure and technology criticality: the link between photovoltaics, sustainability, and the metals industry

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Various high-purity metals endow renewable energy technologies with specific functionalities. These become heavily intertwined in products, complicating end-of-life treatment. To counteract downcycling and resource depletion, maximising both quantities and qualities of materials recovered during production and recycling processes should be prioritised in the pursuit of sustainable circular economy. To do this well requires metallurgical infrastructure systems that maximise resource efficiency.To illustrate the concept, digital twins of two photovoltaic (PV) module technologies were created using process simulation. The models comprise integrated metallurgical systems that produce, among others, cadmium, tellurium, zinc, copper, and silicon, all of which are required for PV modules. System-wide resource efficiency, environmental impacts, and technoeconomic performance were assessed using exergy analysis, life cycle assessment, and cost models, respectively. High-detail simulation of complete life cycles allows for the system-wide effects of various production, recycling, and residue exchange scenarios to be evaluated to maximise overall sustainability and simplify the distribution of impacts in multiple-output production systems. This paper expands on previous studies and demonstrates the key importance of metallurgy in achieving Circular Economy, not only by means of reactors, but via systems and complete supply chains—not only the criticality of elements, but also the criticality of available metallurgical processing and other infrastructure in the supply chain should be addressed. The important role of energy grid compositions, and the resulting location-based variations in supply chain footprints, in maximising energy output per unit of embodied carbon footprint for complete systems is highlighted.

show abstract

End-of-Life CdTe PV Recycling with Semiconductor Refining

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Prioritizing circular economy strategies for sustainable PV deployment at the TW scale

Prioritizing circular economy strategies for sustainable PV deployment at the TW scale

Sustainable Attainment of Solar E-waste Recycling Concerning to COVID-19 Crisis: A Review

Metallurgical infrastructure and technology criticality: the link between photovoltaics, sustainability, and the metals industry

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About