PV Waste Thermal Treatment According to the Circular Economy Concept

• Main Authors: Magdalena Bogacka, Martyna Potempa, Bartłomiej Milewicz, Dariusz Lewandowski, Krzysztof Pikoń, Katarzyna Klejnowska, Piotr Sobik, Edyta Misztal
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-12-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: PV cells; thermal decomposition; PV recycling; pyrolysis; PV materials
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/24/10562

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.