Towards long term sustainability of c-Si solar panels: The environmental benefits of glass sheet recovery

Belançon, Marcos Paulo; Sandrini, Marcelo; Tonholi, Francisnara; Herculano, Leandro Silva; Dias, G. S.

doi:10.1016/j.ref.2022.06.009

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The thermal treatment results in a gas generation (acetaldehyde, CO, CO 2, and CH 4 ) on EVA decomposition, which subsequently imparts higher pressure and leads to cell breakage. , Heating (85 °C, 1 h) followed by manual removal of the laminated layer (back sheet, silicon, and interconnections) led to softening of the EVA and subsequent recovery of the cover glass. The glass recovery can be automated and scaled up, resulting in energy savings of 10 TWh due to reutilization . The thermal treatment entails the combustion of Tedlar (back sheet) + EVA and the harmful release of HF, CO, CO 2 , volatile hydrocarbons, fluorinated organic compounds, aromatic hydrocarbons, and particulate matter .…”

Section: Recycling Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recycling of Discarded Photovoltaic Solar Modules for Metal Recovery: A Review and Outlook for the Future

2022

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The extensive deployment of photovoltaic (PV) modules at an expeditious rate worldwide leads to a massive generation of solar waste (60–78 million tonnes by 2050). A stringent recycling effort to recover metal resources from end-of-life PVs is required for resource recovery, circular economy, and subsequent reduction of environmental impact. The recovery of metallic resources (silicon, silver, copper, lead, and tin) from the first-generation PVs and critical elements (tellurium, indium, selenium, and gallium) from second-generation PVs are mainly targeted. This review systematically discusses the recycling literature of both generations of solar cells, market value calculations, recycling preferences, global trends, and the Indian perspective. The status of PV module recycling on a commercial scale and academic research efforts are discussed. The review systematically discusses the various possible pretreatments and extraction/refining processes. The pretreatments (physical, chemical, thermal, and hybrid processes) play a decisive role in up-gradation, impurity removal, and metal recovery. The challenges include homogeneous collection, process efficiency, holistic resource recovery, and energy considerations. Toxicity characteristics of both generations, life cycle assessment studies, recycling challenges with proposed flowsheets, and a detailed future outlook are propounded to develop a holistic metal recovery approach. In comparison, crystalline Si PVs comprise the maximum economic value. One tonne of mixed PVs (first and second generation) can yield ∼9.32 kg of Cu, ∼0.30 kg of Ag, ∼33.48 kg of Si, ∼1.12 kg of Sn, ∼1.12 kg of Pb, ∼4.9 g of Cd, ∼2.5 g of Te, and ∼3.4 g of In.

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Section: Recycling Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recycling of Discarded Photovoltaic Solar Modules for Metal Recovery: A Review and Outlook for the Future

2022

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“…Diverse pathways of solar panel waste glass recycling have been proposed; the most common is its reincorporation to the solar panel production [ 7 , 8 ]. Other proposed methods of recycling consist of mixing this waste with other residues in the production of different products, such as glass fiber [ 3 , 9 ] clay bricks [ 10 , 11 ] glass-ceramic materials [ 12 , 13 ] and zeolites [ 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is some research about the incorporation of waste material in the development of ceramic substrates, such as the works of Becerril-Romero et al [ 26 ] and Fraga et al [ 27 , 28 ], in which photovoltaic devices were deposited on ceramic tiles synthesized from clay with glass waste, metallurgical slag and ceramic waste; however, to our knowledge, no vitreous substrates from waste materials have been reported for the development of photovoltaic windows. This is considered mandatory because the solar industry’s demand for glass is growing [ 7 , 29 , 30 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photovoltaic Glass Waste Recycling in the Development of Glass Substrates for Photovoltaic Applications

et al. 2023

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Because of the increasing demand for photovoltaic energy and the generation of end-of-life photovoltaic waste forecast, the feasibility to produce glass substrates for photovoltaic application by recycling photovoltaic glass waste (PVWG) material was analyzed. PVWG was recovered from photovoltaic house roof panels for developing windows glass substrates; PVWG was used as the main material mixed with other industrial waste materials (wSG). The glass was casted by air quenching, annealed, and polished to obtain transparent substrates samples. Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) was deposited as back contact on the glass substrates by spray pyrolysis. The chemical composition of the glass materials was evaluated by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), the thermal stability was measured by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and the transmittance was determined by UV-VIS spectroscopy. The surface of the glass substrates and the deposited FTO were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the amorphous or crystalline state of the specimens were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the sheet resistance was evaluated by the four-point probe method. The sheet resistance of the deposited FTO on the wSG substrate was 7.84 ± 3.11 Ω/□, lower than that deposited on commercial soda-lime glass (8.48 ± 3.67 Ω/□), meaning that this material could present improved conduction of the produced electrons by the photovoltaic effect. This process may represent an alternative to produce glass substrates from waste materials that could be destined for photovoltaic applications, especially the production of ecological photovoltaic windows.

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Glassy materials for Silicon-based solar panels: Present and future

Belançon

Sandrini

Zanuto

et al. 2023

Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids

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Towards long term sustainability of c-Si solar panels: The environmental benefits of glass sheet recovery

Cited by 7 publications

References 34 publications

Recycling of Discarded Photovoltaic Solar Modules for Metal Recovery: A Review and Outlook for the Future

Recycling of Discarded Photovoltaic Solar Modules for Metal Recovery: A Review and Outlook for the Future

Photovoltaic Glass Waste Recycling in the Development of Glass Substrates for Photovoltaic Applications

Glassy materials for Silicon-based solar panels: Present and future

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