Sustainable End of Life Management of Crystalline Silicon and Thin Film Solar Photovoltaic Waste: The Impact of Transportation

Economic and environmental sustainability of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar panels recycling

End-of-life management of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) thin-film solar photovoltaics (PV) panels is crucial due to the necessity of recycling valuable elements such as indium ($400/kg) and gallium ($618/kg), ensuring both economic viability and environmental sustainability. In this study, we analyze the private and external costs of end-of-life management for CIGS PV designed for mass-scale recycling. Our findings reveal that the private and external costs of end-of-life management range from ∼$3.5 to $4.5 and ∼$3.0 to $4.0 per m2, respectively. The chemicals utilized in the recycling process, particularly NaOH and HCl, significantly contribute to climate change, photochemical oxidant formation, particulate matter formation, and freshwater eutrophication impact categories, accounting for ∼50 % to 90 % of the impacts. Furthermore, we found the net cost of recycling by subtracting the economic benefit obtained from recovered materials from the sum of private and external costs, revealing values ranging between $4.3 and $5.7 per m2 of CIGS PV module. These findings suggest that there is room to reduce the net cost further by recovering more materials from the CIGS PV modules components.

Global Challenges and Prospects of Photovoltaic Materials Disposal and Recycling: A Comprehensive Review

The considerable amount of waste PV modules expected to emerge from recent widespread of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems is a cause of concern, especially in sustainability terms. Currently, most end-of-life (EoL) PV modules are either disposed of in landfills or bulk recycled in existing recycling facilities. Although these approaches are easier in execution as less efforts are directed at sustainable management of these modules, they can potentially cause environmental issues including loss of valuable resources and leakage of toxic materials. Hence, high-value closed-loop recycling is much preferred for its environmental merits, although its implementation brings forward challenges that this paper attempts to shed light on. This review paper aims to provide an overview of the EoL management of PV modules, concentrating on the challenges faced in PV recycling. Additionally, PV waste-related regulatory frameworks implemented in different countries are discussed. Recommendations to improve the EoL management of PV modules and trade-offs arising from conflicting solutions are proposed. To establish a sustainable PV waste management framework, legislations promoting the extended producer responsibility (EPR) principle, presence of suitable infrastructure, research and development (R&D) and cooperation of various governmental and private bodies are highly needed.

PV Waste Thermal Treatment According to the Circular Economy Concept

Photovoltaic panels (PV) are one of the most popular technological solutions used to produce green renewable energy. They are known as green technology, but by analyzing a life cycle of a common panel, we can find out that production of these panels is strictly associated with generation of a large waste stream. PV modules are constantly modified and, therefore, it is required to consider the impact of the applied materials on the environment during the whole lifecycle of the product. The most important aspect of the assessment of a life cycle of a photovoltaic module in the phase of decommissioning is material recycling. The process of material recycling is very difficult, due to the lamination used in the currently exploited technology. This paper presents the results of pyrolysis for a sample of a silicon module. The results of the presented research show a weight loss of 48.16 in case of the tested samples. This paper presents the outcome of a quantitative analysis of the content of polycyclic aromatic for liquid and concentrations of Br, Cl and F for a gaseous fraction of pyrolysis products. The goal of the research presented in the paper was to find the optimal parameters for thermal separation, as well as the influence of the energy consumption and materials separation efficiency on the final thermal efficiency of the process.