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

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

Renewable Energy, 2012, vol. 47, issue C, 152-159

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.

Keywords: Photovoltaic module; Ethylene vinyl acetate; Etching solution; Silicon; Recycling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:47:y:2012:i:c:p:152-159

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2012.04.030

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