Recycling Processes for end of life photovoltaic panels:Case study on silver recovery from crystalline silicon cells

Over the past two decades, the use of photovoltaics has grown quickly, reaching a total installed power of 940 GW by the end of 2021. However, efficient recycling processes must be found and adopted to manage the enormous quantity of end-of-life PV panels projected soon. Recycling is essential to prevent the loss of the precious materials used to make solar panels such as silicon, silver, copper, aluminum, and glass. while also preventing the release of dangerous substances into the environment, through inappropriate disposal methods. In order to identify recycling solutions that may successfully support the ongoing growth of the solar market, this thesis set out to investigate the process methods for recycling photovoltaic panels that have been installed up to date. A detailed analysis of the several recycling possibilities was conducted both from an environmental and techno-economic point of view. Moreover, this work focused on the feasibility of recovering precious metals from end-of-life PV modules with hydrometallurgical techniques. A case study was conducted on silver recovery from crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells performing different laboratory tests using nitric acid and thiourea solutions.