Chemical Delamination Applicable to a Low-Energy Recycling Process of Photovoltaic Modules

Abstract

This work follows the current trend and need to ensure the best recyclability of retired materials. This paper focuses on experiments with chemical delamination of polymer layers on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells. The aim of the study is to separate individual components of a PV module so that the components can be subsequently recycled with low energy demand. The ultimate goal is to separate whole silicon cells for reuse rather than for recycling. Several solvents (e.g., toluene, cyclohexane, tetrahydrofuran, and the commercial solvent U 6002 (a mixture of xylene and 2-ethoxyethylacetate)) were used to disrupt the polymer layers. The results showed toluene to be the most effective solvent, which acted the fastest and was able to disrupt the EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate) film structure the most. The main problem of the investigated chemical delamination was the concurrent solvent absorption by the EVA film. This phenomenon was observed for all solvents. The absorption prevented the dissolution of the EVA film and changed its dimension, causing the adhering silicon cells to crack. While, as the final experiment shows, chemical delamination is, as done, a more energy-intensive process in terms of total energy consumption than the current chemical mechanical processes, we propose in the next development the recapture of toluene from the swollen EVA.