Systematic Photovoltaic Waste Recycling

Abstract

AbstractIndium, selenium, tellurium, gallium, molybdenum, cadmium and silicon are some of the major elements used in photovoltaic cells. Fully aware of the limited availability of these metals in future, recycling has been recognized as the most advisable end-of-life strategy to save these raw materials from turning into production wastes. On the other hand, statutory measures such as “Kreislaufwirtschaftsgesetz” (the German law encouraging closed-loop economy) aim to achieve a maximum quota of recycling and a minimum use of resources such as energy and raw materials. By the year of 2050, end-of-life photovoltaic panels are anticipated to amount to 9.57 million tons [1]. Although we are not there yet, discussions on recycling have already started. We have to prepare for higher waste volumes expected in the coming years. But already today we need to solve some environmental problems like loss of conventional resources (e.g., glass) and rare metals [2]. All of the known approaches for recycling photovoltaic semiconductor material seem economically and environmentally inefficient [3, 4]. In this paper, we report about reclaiming metals from scrap of thin film systems and associated photovoltaic manufacturing wastes like sandblasting dust and overspray. We also report one universal wet-chemical treatment for reclaiming the metals from CIS, CIGS or CdTe photovoltaic waste. Further, we discuss the application of our method to new PV systems, such as substrates other than glass (stainless steel, aluminum or plastic foil sheets) and alternative semiconductor alloys such as GaAs.