Material Flux through an Innovative Recycling Process Treating Different Types of End-of-Life Photovoltaic Panels: Demonstration at Pilot Scale

Flavia Carla dos Santos Martins Padoan, Pier Giorgio Schiavi, Gianmaria Belardi, Pietro Altimari, Antonio Rubino and Francesca Pagnanelli
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Flavia Carla dos Santos Martins Padoan: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Pier Giorgio Schiavi: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Gianmaria Belardi: Department of Physics, Tor Vergata University of Rome, via della Ricerca Scientifica 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
Pietro Altimari: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Antonio Rubino: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
Francesca Pagnanelli: Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 17, 1-13

Abstract: A quantitative assessment of the material flux emerging from a pilot plant for the treatment of end-of-life photovoltaic panel waste was reported. The process included the manual dismantling of aluminum frames, mechanical treatment for size reduction, and the physical treatment of the milled materials for the release of coarse glass from the encapsulant polymer. Demonstration activities were performed using 1 ton of Si-, 1 ton of CdTe-, and 1 ton of CIGS-based photovoltaic panels (investigated separately), confirming the ability of the process to treat different photovoltaic technologies. The characterization of the input materials was performed and compared with previous literature data. The major bottleneck in the definition of an effective process option for the treatment of different panel technologies was emphasized by the high heterogeneity reported. Mass balances for the proposed process were derived by the recovered material flow. It was highlighted that in processes based on mechanical treatments, producing predominantly coarse fractions allows for the facile separation of most of the valuable components. In this perspective, the present work offers further insights into the design of recycling process to reach increased profitability/sustainability, especially considering the distributions of valuable metals in the process products.

Keywords: photovoltaic panel; recycling process; pilot scale; mass balance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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