26 January 2010, Berlin, Germany

In the framework of the international collaboration IEA PVPS Task 12 “Environment Health &Safety”, EPIA, PVCYCLE and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC) hosted the 1st International Conference on PV Module Recycling on the 26 January 2010 in Berlin, Germany. This event gathered more than 200 participants.

The event presented the state-of-the-art PV module recycling and provided a platform for discussion between the PV industry and the most experienced players in recycling from other related sectors.

During the first session, an overview of all the recovery and recycling techniques for the different PV technologies (c-Si, CdTe, CIGS, thin film silicon) was given by the most experienced industry and knowledgeable research centres.

During the second session, industries involved in recycling processes from other sectors (e.g WEEE recycling, glass, lamps, etc.) shared experiences and synergies which could be applied to the PV module recycling technologies. A discussion on recycling costs and future plans for recycling in the EU took place during the last session of the conference.

Please download here the Programme of the Conference.

Visit the Picture Gallery.

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Making the Photovoltaic Industry double green
Jan Clyncke, PV CYCLE

PV CYCLE was founded in July 2007 to implement the photovoltaic industry’s commitment to set up a voluntary take back and recycling programme for end-of-life modules and to take responsibility for PV modules throughout their entire value chain.

PV modules are designed to generate clean, renewable energy for over 25 years. With the first significant installations in the early 1990s, full-scale end-of-life recycling is still another 10-15 years away. 

Nevertheless, the PV industry is working to create truly sustainable energy solutions that take into consideration the environmental impacts of all stages of the product life cycle, from raw material sourcing through end-of-life collection and recycling. Although the PV industry is young, leading manufacturers are embracing the concept of producer responsibility and have come together to put in place a voluntary, industry-wide take-back and recycling programme. By addressing future recycling needs now, we can offer a truly sustainable energy solution today to help prevent climate change tomorrow.  

Through PV CYCLE, the photovoltaic industry wants to install an overall waste management and recycling policy which can achieve the highest economically feasible and environmentally responsible collection and recycling of PV modules.

PV CYCLE currently has 61 members, out of which 52 are manufacturers or importers of PV modules in Europe. PV CYCLE represents more than 85% of the European market.

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End-of-Waste Criteria
Baudouin Ska, FEAD (European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services)

The FEAD’s goal is to ensure that effective practical legislation with respect to waste management is put in place and that the enforcement of this legislation leads to environmental sustainability in a competitive market. The FEAD works closely together with the EU institutions, industry and trade organisations in order to promote environmentally sound waste management.

In the revised version of the Waste Framework Directive (WFD), recycling and End-of-Waste (EOW) are included. The Directive provides a definition of recycling and milestones for the introduction of waste prevention, collection and recycling programmes. In the Directive, also a definition for EOW is taken up. Moreover, the EU Joint Research Center (JRC) and the DG ENVI have started with the elaboration of the criteria for EOW in a Technical Adaptation Committee in March 2009.

Moreover, some examples of the EOW criteria were presented, such as for aluminium scrap, copper and glass. Criteria on product quality, the input material, the treatment processes and techniques and quality assurance have to be considered.

When a product is no longer considered as waste (for example those recovered substances that comply with EOW criteria), the REACH legislation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical substances) will apply. Exemptions of REACH are however possible; this depends on the product type or also when the ‘sameness’ of the substances can be proven. In some cases, a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) is required, which includes information on the safety of the substance or mixture of substances; moreover, this safety information should be communicated down the supply chain.

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An overview of First Solar’s “Collection and Recycling Program”
Lisa Krueger, First Solar

Within the context of First Solar’s “Environmental Commitment” and its “Commitment to Extended Producer Responsibility”, a “Collection and Recycling Program” was established in 2005.

The collection is free of charge for the end user, who can request collection at any time. The company prefunds the estimated collection and recycling costs for all modules sold at the time of sale and the funds are invested locally in restricted custodial accounts.

The collected modules, together with the manufacturing scrap, are shredded and crushed in a hammer mill after which the CdTe film is removed in a rotating, stainless steel drum. An aspiration system has been put in place to control the dust production during the initial crushing process. Afterwards, the solid and liquid content are separated from each other. The metal-rich liquids undergo a precipitation process and the resulting filter cake is sent to a third party for further processing. This filter cake contains 95% of the semiconductor material of the modules. The solid content contains glass and laminate material. The laminate is filtered out and the glass is rinsed (cleaned); 90% of the glass can then be reused in new glass products and the laminate is disposed of. Each of the manufacturing facilities is equipped with a recycling facility.

It has been calculated (by M. Held) that First Solar’s way of recycling could reduce overall life cycle environmental impacts (such as acidification and global warming potential) by 6% to 10%. Moreover, approximately 2% of the primary energy demand could be saved by recycling. Finally, the company works in close cooperation with PV CYCLE analysing possible synergies with PV CYCLE’s collection and recycling scheme.

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Recycling of c-Si modules
Karsten Wambach, Sunicon

SolarWorld, being the first company to implement a commercial take-back system for PV modules (in 2003) was one of the co-founders of PV CYCLE in 2007. The company has been pushing for a worldwide voluntary take-back system since 2004.

The recycling process includes a thermal process (in which the organic, polymeric compounds are burnt off) and a chemical process. The closed loop recycling cycle allows SolarWorld to reuse the recycled silicon for new wafer production. Modules made from these recycled wafers need 30% less energy compared to modules produced from new wafers. The current process is able to recapture 90% of the materials (based on their weight) and 1500 tons are recycled each year.  Examples, such as the recycling of the Chevetogne panels have proven the viability of the process. The recovery of glass, aluminium and silicon is beneficial to the environment because its positive impact is greater than the environmental burdens of recycling (which are mainly due to the thermal treatment). 

So far the glass-cell-connector separation process is manual because the recycling line is still at pilot scale. Though, a new treatment will be developed which will allow an automatic separation. The new automated process with high energy efficiency would permit a significant reduction of the environmental burden related to the thermal treatment. It would also deliver a higher yield and purity of the recovered materials. An automated plant would thus be able to provide more environmental benefits at a lower cost than the pilot plant is able to do for the moment.

Finally, the importance of international cooperation (or regional, such as within the framework of PV CYCLE), standardisation and best practice’s sharing were stressed as essential factors for the global success of PV recycling.

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Obtaining valuable metals from Thin Film modules
Marc Suys, 5NPV

5N PV, a subsidiary of 5N Plus has been operational since 2008 and active in the recycling of PV manufacturing by-products. They deal with the recovery of valuable metals, such as cadmium (Cd), tellurium (Te), selenium (Se) from Thin Film manufacturing scrap and from concentrates resulting from etching and recycling processes.

For the recovery of tellurium (Te), a typical hydro process is used. Such a process includes treatment steps such as leaching, filtration, oxidation, reduction, selective precipitation and electrowinning. For cadmium (Cd) extraction and refining, in addition, cementation and ion exchange are necessary. For the recycling of CdTe scrap, the current recovery rate is 95%.

The process for the recovery of indium (In) and gallium (Ga) is still under development. In the future, they are planning to recycle Thin Film End-Of-Life (EoL) PV panels (both CdTe and CIS). This is part of the company’s 2010-2011 recycling program in which they will also work on the improvement of recovery rates. The result of this program will be an integrated recycling process with higher yields at lower costs. This results in a reduction in the number of process steps and overall equipment requirements. Increased volumes and improvements because of a better overall process overview are other benefits. Moreover, it will allow PV manufacturers to focus fully on their core business again.

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Experiences from TV monitor recycling
Eckart Doering, Schott AG

Eckart Doering was in charge of organising the take-back and recycling of cathode ray tubes (CRTs) from Schott. CRTs are similar to PV modules in the material composition: an important percentage of glass that cannot be easily separated.

He explained that one of the main drivers to start recycling is the regulation. In their case, their main motivations were the German regulation for electronic waste, the environmental guidelines of Schott, the high volumes, the high cost of the raw materials and some materials used were classified as hazardous materials.

Through experience, they learned that the output or the fractions are important. Precise specifications for these fractions should be developed.

Eckart Doering also emphasised that the PV industry should take care of designing the logistics in the best way, since it is a factor which carries most of the cost.

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Insights on recycling of Flat Glass
Roland Pohl, Reiling

Reiling is a flat glass recycler. He explained the definition of flat glass and the different types that exist. Reiling observed when collecting the flat glass that the amount of solar modules is increasing. Therefore, they see the need to find a solution for solar modules.

Their current process consists of the following steps:

• crushing/shredding
• foil removal
• extraction of metals and other materials

Reiling applied this process to photovoltaic modules. They found out that the frame should be removed before shredding. This will increase the cost of recycling since the manual removal of the frame is expensive.

Other problems they encountered were the dust that is created during the crushing process and that the EVA layer does not separate from the glass as PVB due to the atmospheric humidity. After applying this process, the recycled glass obtained from the PV modules is between medium and poor quality.

According to Mr Pohl, it is possible to apply their flat glass recycling process to crystalline silicone modules but not to CIGS or CdTe modules due to the dust generated. He foresees a much higher cost to recycle CIGS/CIS/CdTe modules.

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Lessons learnt from electric and electronic appliances
Thierry Dalle, Umicore

According to Mr Dalle, the main drivers to start recycling a product are the value of the product, the volume, if there is an EHS problem, the impact on CO2 emissions or society. PV modules will most likely fall into the volume problem category, although they will not appear in 10 to 20 years from now. Moreover, PV uses some expensive metals which make recycling an interesting approach.
Mr Dalle pointed out that the inclusion of PV modules under the scope of WEEE is not the issue, because in the case of PV modules, the need for recycling is society driven.

The European Union supports recycling through different initiatives such as the raw materials initiative, the goal of which is to boost overall resource efficiency and promote recycling to reduce the EU’s consumption of primary raw materials and decrease the relative import.

He proposes making a single partner in Europe to prepare the pre-treatment facility which will be sufficient in the time being due to the foreseen volumes.

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Another insight on Flat Glass recycling
Eric Dirkx, Maltha

Maltha is a flat glass recycler with delegations in different European countries such as Portugal, Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Hungary.

Their process consists of the following steps:

• pre-manual sorting
• crushing
• metal and other materials separation

He pointed out the different advantages of recycling flat glass. Though collection landfilling and incineration costs are saved; CO2 emissions and raw materials need to be reduced. Mr Dirkx said that 1 ton of cullet saves 1.4 tons of raw materials.

Maltha’s proposal is to use the same process for PV modules which they already tested with crystalline silicon modules with the main goal to recover the glass. He asked the PV manufacturers to think of the eco design of their products since the module has to be recycled afterwards.

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Fluorescent Lamp Recycling
Clas Ötting, Relux

Relux is a fluorescent lamps recycler among other products. He presented DELA: the German take-back system for fluorescent lamps. They process 4.745 tons/year although their capacity is 20.000 tons/year.

Relux process is based on a crush-wash-sieve system which allows them to obtain a 94% recycling rate of the fluorescent lamps and to process any type of fluorescent lamp. Moreover, they are used to removing and recycling hazardous substances such as mercury.

Mr Ötting concluded that regarding PV module recycling, they see links but no solutions ready to use, especially for thin film modules. Relux is willing to establish collaboration with PV manufacturers and to start up a research project.

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LCA of the whole life cycle of PV: “From cradle to cradle”
Mariska de Wild-Scholten, ECN

To assess the sustainability of thin film products, 3 pillars need to be investigated, namely Life Cycle Cost (LCC), Social Life Cycle Assessment (SLCA) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Here the focus is on the last one, namely the environmental impacts of the modules from cradle to cradle.

The environmental profiles of the two PV module recycling processes which are commercially operating (c-Si and CdTe) were analysed. Although the use of chemicals and the high energy requirements, as well as emissions to the water and the air present environmental burdens, the benefits provided are significantly higher; this is due to the recovery of certain valuable metals like copper and Tellurium as well as aluminium and glass recuperation.

Regarding the carbon footprint of PV technology, the contributions of the recycling process represent about 10% of the total CO2 emissions which can be considered as a small portion. The major CO2 contributions are due to lamination in the case of thin films and wafer production in the case of wafer-based technologies.

An analysis was also made regarding the emissions of heavy metal to the air and water. Although some technologies do not contain hazardous materials, its production implies the emission to the air of certain substances like Cadmium, for instance. These emissions are mainly due to the production of electricity used during manufacturing (electricity which comes normally from fossil-fuel technologies) and the production of materials like glass. To summarise, we need to understand that all PV modules have life cycle Cd emissions.

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Recycling and collection activities in the US
Vasilis Fthenakis, Brookhaven National Laboratories

The recycling and collection activities of PV modules in the US are still very limited. PV module warranties do not include recycling as regional legislation does not require it. So far, only First Solar has a well established recycling programme. However, the interest in this field is rapidly increasing as the PV market and social responsibility grows. Other industries like the mobile phone and battery ones have already put in place collection and recycling infrastructure in the US which could serve as a good example for the PV sector. Furthermore, the scheme proposed by PV CYCLE in Europe is being deeply analysed.

Looking at Photovoltaics Sustainability and Recycling on the long term perspective, three elements are to be taken into account: cost, resource availability and environmental impact. A study on the availability and price of high valuable metals like Tellurium (Te), Germanium and Indium (In) was presented. For instance, Indium’s price has increased by a factor of 10 since the 60’s due to the strong demand increase in computer screens, laptops and televisions.

The availability of Te and In may not represent major problems until the middle of 2030. However, if the recycling of such metals is not performed in an efficient manner, their availability could become a real issue, increasing steeply the price. 

Recycling activities for CdTe and CIGS have been carried out during the past years at Brookhaven National Laboratories in the US. The processes, based only on hydrometallurgical operations, achieve high levels of separation of Cadmium up to 99.99% and 90-96% for Tellurium. Other topics such as the proper cleaning of glass from EVA and metals are still to be addressed.

Cooperation here with the glass industry will be very useful to understand the levels of quality expected from the recycling process.

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Mathematical Modeling of PV Recycling Infrastructure
Jun-ki Choi, Brookhaven National Laboratories

A study has been carried out at Brookhaven National Laboratories in order to assess the profitability of a recycling plant of crystalline silicon modules. The calculations are based on the current pilot line operated by Sunicon. The research aims at providing recommendations on how to maximise the revenue and minimise the cost of a recycling plant.

With an automated separation process, the commercial plant would start being profitable from 470 t/yr. While for a commercial plant of 20,000 t/yr the collection cost would be significantly higher than for a small pilot line, more efficient processes would dramatically reduce the processing cost thus considerably increasing the revenues.

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