Extracting monocrystalline silicon from waste photovoltaic panels

Does a monocrystalline silicon solar PV cell contain Pb and AG?

From Fig. 8 (a), the front end of the untreated EoL monocrystalline silicon solar PV cell contains Pb and Ag in trace amounts, which was a result of the welding and conductor materials. On the other hand, from Fig. 8 (b), it can be seen that the rear end of the panel contains only Al from the coating material.

What is the recycling process for silicon-based PV panels?

In this review article, the complete recycling process is systematically summarized into two main sections: disassembly and delamination treatment for silicon-based PV panels, involving physical, thermal, and chemical treatment, and the retrieval of valuable metals (silicon, silver, copper, tin, etc.).

Can we recover silicon materials from discarded photovoltaic modules?

Herein, a potential sustainable development idea was put forward to recover silicon materials from stripped discarded photovoltaic modules based on wet leaching and nano-metal catalyzed etching to prepare porous silicon/carbon (PSi/Li/N@C) composite materials for the anode of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).

What are the dimensions of a monocrystalline silicon solar PV panel?

A piece of EoL monocrystalline silicon solar PV panel with the dimensions: 400 mm (length) × 200 mm (width) was provided by an electronic waste recycling company. The solar panel was thoroughly cleaned with deionized water and weighed before manual disassembly. Table 1 shows the components after the cleaning and before thermal treatments.

How are non-silicon PV panels treated?

The non-silicon PV panels are treated by on chemical process to separate the different PV module components and 95 % of materials were claimed to be able to be recovered for use in new materials (PV CYCLE, 2013).

Can crystalline silicon solar cells be recovered from photovoltaic modules?

Klugmann-Radziemska E, Ostrowski P (2010) Chemical treatment of crystalline silicon solar cells as a method of recovering pure silicon from photovoltaic modules. Renewable Energy 35 (8):1751–1759