Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

For more than two decades, photovoltaic (PV) technology, also known as solar PV, has witnessed an exponential global growth and has evolved from a small niche market serving small-scale applications to a mainstream electricity source, currently supplying 1% of global electricity demands. After wind and hydropower, solar PV is considered to be the third most important renewable energy source in terms of worldwide installed capacity, which surpassed 178 GW in 2014. This rapid development and growth combined with the scarcity of semiconductor materials and the anticipated large quantity of waste PV in the near future has forced many PV manufacturers to look for sustainable recycling strategies and programs. Any recycling strategy must be capable of reducing waste and recovering the valuable materials for reuse at low cost, high efficiency and with minimal impact on the environment. Herein, we propose a simple, yet effective thermo-mechanical technique to separate the components in typical crystalline PV modules. Unlike other technologies, the proposed technique does not require harmful chemicals such as trichloroethylene-a probable and Group 2A carcinogen-to remove components of common PV modules, eliminating the need for high capital and operation expenditure and costly and stringent environmental regulations. The proposed technology provides the industrial partner-Celestica-with a robust and practical pathway to recycle unwanted PV modules in an environmentally responsible manner through significant waste and cost reductions, while maintain a high throughput.