A team of Japanese scientists investigated how typical PV panel component materials influence the ability to reuse PV cover at the end of the lifetime. In particular, they measured contamination by materials such as aluminum, silicon, carbon and copper, and their effects in melted PV panel glass zest.
Researchers from the Hokkaido research organization in Japan investigated the effects of residues of typical panel component materials in PV -aur glass peel when it is melted to be used in new products, such as plate glass or glass for bottles.
The effects on component materials, such as aluminum and silicon, must be better understood if PV cover glass from the end of the lifespan must be recycled in applications with a higher value, Instead of used as a filling material or sand -alternatives in construction.
The team focused on separating materials with the help of thermal processes and hotmet methods, which are seen as suitable approaches to restore PV glass and at the same time minimize the contamination risks.
However, as the team has noticed, there is a need for more research. “PV -Glasrecycling by Melting has not been sufficiently investigated,” said Hiroyuki Inano, corresponding author of the research, said PV -Magazine.
“We found that small amounts of contaminants of the PV panel influence the melted glass. The quality of the PV glass valve decides the subsequent use,” he said.
In the experiments, the researchers studied the reactions between the PV panel glass and contaminants that could occur during panel inflammation and subsequent melts, especially antimony oxide in PV glass and silicon contaminants.
They used chemical reagents that represent the components of a panel, in particular aluminum (Al) representing the frame, silicon (SI) that represent the cells, copper (CU) for interconnectors, tin (SN) for solder and carbon (C) for the ethylene vinyletate.
The glass samples with each reagent were melted at raised temperatures and evaluated with the help of X -ray fraction (XRD). “In addition, redox reactions between glass components oxides and these elements were examined by chemical thermodynamics calculations,” they said.
The contaminants turned out to be coloring the glass. CU, for example, turned the glass blue. Si, as a contamination at 0.01 mass%, had no influence on the glass, but 0.1 mass% SI changed the sample glass yellow.
Added with more SI, antimony oxide was reduced and the surplus SI remained according to the research. “Si fine particles attached to the tidy cannot be easily removed. Si -bes infection in PV glass significantly influences the redox balance, which may affect the color of the glass and changes its composition as a result of the reduction of oxides,” the group said.
It is now working on another melted glass examination, this time test materials from PV panels, instead of reagents.
The details of the study appeared in “Impact of silicon and other contaminants on the melting process in photovoltaic glass recycling“Published in Journal or non-crystalline solids.
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