Recycling of Photovoltaic Modules – A Strategy for Silicon and Metal Contact Recovery
As the installed capacity of photovoltaic (PV) systems continues to grow, also does the necessity to address the accumulating waste from decommissioned PV modules. Millions of modules will need to be retired in the next few decades, and this poses a challenge that requires the development of cost-...
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| Language: | English |
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TIB Open Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | SiliconPV Conference Proceedings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tib-op.org/ojs/index.php/siliconpv/article/view/1293 |
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| author | Nerea Dasilva-Villanueva Luis Jaime Caballero David Fuertes Marrón Araceli Rodríguez Eduardo Díez Jesús Ángel Muñoz Sánchez Alejandro F. Braña José Luis Plaza Canga-Argüelles Enrique Cánovas Carlos del Cañizo |
| author_facet | Nerea Dasilva-Villanueva Luis Jaime Caballero David Fuertes Marrón Araceli Rodríguez Eduardo Díez Jesús Ángel Muñoz Sánchez Alejandro F. Braña José Luis Plaza Canga-Argüelles Enrique Cánovas Carlos del Cañizo |
| author_sort | Nerea Dasilva-Villanueva |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
As the installed capacity of photovoltaic (PV) systems continues to grow, also does the necessity to address the accumulating waste from decommissioned PV modules. Millions of modules will need to be retired in the next few decades, and this poses a challenge that requires the development of cost-effective and efficient recycling strategies, with a focus on essential components such as solar cells, which are known for their significant environmental impact and energy budget. This study explores strategies to recover metal from front and rear contacts, as well as the potentiality of silicon substrate recrystallization. Alkaline-organic solutions allow for complete metal detachment with small-to-minimal silicon loss, and recrystallization of recovered substrates provides promising results in obtaining wafers suitable for the newly established industry requirements. Al-BSF solar cells fabricated from recycled materials exhibit improved performance, proving the feasibility of reclaiming precious metals and silicon substrates from PV modules. These encouraging first results represent an important step towards cycling PV systems within a circular economy framework, thereby minimizing waste and maximizing resource utilization.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-08401c2534af43838a907f034bf704fc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2940-2123 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | TIB Open Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SiliconPV Conference Proceedings |
| spelling | doaj-art-08401c2534af43838a907f034bf704fc2025-01-15T09:50:13ZengTIB Open PublishingSiliconPV Conference Proceedings2940-21232025-01-01210.52825/siliconpv.v2i.1293Recycling of Photovoltaic Modules – A Strategy for Silicon and Metal Contact RecoveryNerea Dasilva-Villanueva0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0111-6510Luis Jaime Caballero1https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9916-4630David Fuertes Marrón2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9493-9902Araceli Rodríguez3Eduardo Díez4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9796-396XJesús Ángel Muñoz Sánchez5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6336-3931Alejandro F. Braña6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2125-8495José Luis Plaza Canga-Argüelles7Enrique Cánovas8Carlos del Cañizo9https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1287-6854Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Instituto de Energía SolarInstituto de Energía SolarDepartamento de Ingeniería Química y de MaterialesDepartamento de Ingeniería Química y de MaterialesDepartamento de Ingeniería Química y de MaterialesGrupo de Electrónica y SemiconductoresLaboratorio de Crecimiento de CristalesIMDEA NanoscienceInstituto de Energía Solar As the installed capacity of photovoltaic (PV) systems continues to grow, also does the necessity to address the accumulating waste from decommissioned PV modules. Millions of modules will need to be retired in the next few decades, and this poses a challenge that requires the development of cost-effective and efficient recycling strategies, with a focus on essential components such as solar cells, which are known for their significant environmental impact and energy budget. This study explores strategies to recover metal from front and rear contacts, as well as the potentiality of silicon substrate recrystallization. Alkaline-organic solutions allow for complete metal detachment with small-to-minimal silicon loss, and recrystallization of recovered substrates provides promising results in obtaining wafers suitable for the newly established industry requirements. Al-BSF solar cells fabricated from recycled materials exhibit improved performance, proving the feasibility of reclaiming precious metals and silicon substrates from PV modules. These encouraging first results represent an important step towards cycling PV systems within a circular economy framework, thereby minimizing waste and maximizing resource utilization. https://www.tib-op.org/ojs/index.php/siliconpv/article/view/1293SiliconSolar CellsRecyclingRecrystallizationMetal Recovery |
| spellingShingle | Nerea Dasilva-Villanueva Luis Jaime Caballero David Fuertes Marrón Araceli Rodríguez Eduardo Díez Jesús Ángel Muñoz Sánchez Alejandro F. Braña José Luis Plaza Canga-Argüelles Enrique Cánovas Carlos del Cañizo Recycling of Photovoltaic Modules – A Strategy for Silicon and Metal Contact Recovery SiliconPV Conference Proceedings Silicon Solar Cells Recycling Recrystallization Metal Recovery |
| title | Recycling of Photovoltaic Modules – A Strategy for Silicon and Metal Contact Recovery |
| title_full | Recycling of Photovoltaic Modules – A Strategy for Silicon and Metal Contact Recovery |
| title_fullStr | Recycling of Photovoltaic Modules – A Strategy for Silicon and Metal Contact Recovery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recycling of Photovoltaic Modules – A Strategy for Silicon and Metal Contact Recovery |
| title_short | Recycling of Photovoltaic Modules – A Strategy for Silicon and Metal Contact Recovery |
| title_sort | recycling of photovoltaic modules a strategy for silicon and metal contact recovery |
| topic | Silicon Solar Cells Recycling Recrystallization Metal Recovery |
| url | https://www.tib-op.org/ojs/index.php/siliconpv/article/view/1293 |
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