Recycling of photovoltaic panels

Why does recycling photovoltaic panels pay off?

Lighthief is a company whose main mission is to recycle photovoltaic panels – all of our activities, research and business activities lead in this direction.

In Poland, this problem is not yet recognized, although it is clear from our research and market observations that we already have tons of recyclable photovoltaic panels in the territory. These are mainly photovoltaic panels after transport damage, scratched, after flooding or hailstorms or other mechanical defects (sometimes manufacturing defects or whole broken containers that arrived from Asia).

We are confident that our pioneering approach to recycling photovoltaic panels, will bring more and more tangible business results.

As silicon prices rise, its recovery is becoming more financially viable. Already, the cost of obtaining pure silicon from photovoltaic panels is slowly becoming lower than the cost of mining it, and given the tonnage of photovoltaic panels being produced and installed, the business is trending strongly upward.

The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates, That by 2050. up to 78 million tons of raw materials may return to the world market recovered from photovoltaic panels worth more than $15 billion.

The photovoltaic panel recycling market is growing and will continue to grow extremely rapidly. On the one hand due to the increasing demand for recycled photovoltaic panels, raw materials and fractions and on the other hand due to the increasing environmental restrictions on photovoltaic panel Manufacturers. Our awareness that recycling photovoltaic panels is the only way to a fully “green” production cycle is very strong!

In Poland, there is absolutely no talk of fixing donated photovoltaic panels. What would it sound like if we said that from waste we are restoring a fully functioning new product? This makes fundamental sense from the point of view of the “green cycle” of products, the energy balance and the life cycle of photovoltaic panels. Very often the cost of repairing photovoltaic panels, along with assigning a new warranty and a new serial number, is much lower than the actual recycling of photovoltaic panels. For some of the photovoltaic modules, this is, in our opinion, the right way to go, supported, moreover, by the EU and the laws on electro-waste from the RP.

What is the recycling of photovoltaic panels?

In this case, we are dealing with materials that are harmless to the environment.

A classic photovoltaic panel consists of several components: an aluminum frame, which, depending on the model, accounts for about 18 percent. its weight, tempered glass, EVA laminating film, rear reinforcement consisting of a combination of different polymers, junction box, bypass diodes (we call them “busbars” for short) and, of course, the heart of the panels, which is silicon and non-ferrous metals.

Recycling photovoltaic panels is nothing more than separating the above fractions in such a way that they can be further added to the economic cycle of raw materials.

There is absolutely no problem with the aluminum frame. We download and sell on! Glass and rear polymer support consisting of film are also not a problem. The glass goes to a smelter, and the film, by burning it, feeds energy to a PV panel recycling plant or as pellets goes for reuse (it all depends on the PV panel recycling method used). The cables and junction box are also fairly easy to reuse and sell. We are also able to recover copper, silver, as well as rare earth metals.

And so we come to silicon. At the production stage silicon laid on EVA film travels to 3-chamber lamination . Imagine a huge autoclave, a bit like a dentist’s – first produces a vacuum , then anneals the film surrounding the silicon and cross-linking takes place (so-called gel content) . The last chamber is already cooling of silicon cells to about 25 degrees C. This whole process is extremely important for the operation of photovoltaic panels. If it has been carried out stably there is no problem with delamination, yellowing, busbars coming off or other defects that we later see after several years of use.

So what is silicon recycling from photovoltaic panels? We have to reverse the whole above process of annealing, fusing with EVA film. Recycling photovoltaic panels is actually reverse engineering them. Recovering the silicon itself is no longer as simple as pulling off the aluminum frame.

So what should the silicon recycling process look like? We have several ways – first of all, get rid of EVA film, which is a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate. EVA comes in the form of thin sheets that are placed between the solar cells and the top and back surfaces. Such a “sandwich” is then heated to 150 °C to polymerize the EVA and bind the module.

The holy grail of photovoltaic panel recycling? Recovering intact silicon plaques and reusing them in production. Now at Lighthief we already obtain silicon pig iron or more-or-less damaged silicon plaques without any problem. On the subject of technology implementations, we are talking and working with two large players from India and Thailand, and a large panel manufacturer from China.

What does it look like from the business side?

Look at the tonnages of photovoltaic panels being set up in Europe, the number of photovoltaic farms being built, and the factories producing photovoltaic panels around the world. Let’s count the demand for silicon and the number of components continually produced for the photovoltaic industry…. You don’t have to count much, it just pays off!!!!

Germans are already dismantling huge amounts from domestic installations and photovoltaic farms, likewise the French, Italians and Spaniards. There is a natural technological obsolescence of the equipment, and photovoltaic panels, whose nominal power output just five years ago was excellent, are now being replaced by new and more powerful installations. Photovoltaic panels on photovoltaic farms are also being replaced and replaced with new and improved modules.

It is estimated that in Europe, the amount of depleted and used photovoltaic panels recyclable was about 290,000 tons in 2010. By 2050, this amount could increase to 78 million tons and a value of more than $15 trillion (as reported by IRENA). Over the past 10 years, the solar power and photovoltaic panel industry has been one of the fastest growing industries, with an average annual growth rate of more than 35%.

The growth rate of photovoltaic module production is being likened to that of the microelectronics industry in its early days. The photovoltaic panel sector is the fastest growing sector next to IT and biotechnology. Even in 2006, when there was a temporary shortage of silicon, more photovoltaic installations were installed than in previous years.

Currently, Lighthief is at the stage of acquiring Strategic Investors, updating environmental permits in the Częstochowa municipality and implementing a new technological line for recycling photovoltaic panels. If you want to participate in this very innovative and exciting venture as investors or experts we invite you to contact our office.

Check also:
Recycling RES
Collection of photovoltaic panels for recycling
Recycling of wind farms