Prospective life cycle assessment of recycling systems for spent photovoltaic panels by combined application of physical separation technologies

The design of an optimal system for recycling photovoltaic panels is a pressing issue. This study performed a prospective life cycle assessment using experimental and pilot data to reveal the effectiveness of the proposed technologies. The proposed technologies include aluminum frame separation; precise mechanical separation consisting of primary and secondary grinding; the hot-knife method for glass/ethylene-vinyl acetate separation; and high-voltage pulsed discharge that targets copper and silver in cell sheets. Implementing resource recovery technology decreases landfill waste because the hot-knife procedure facilitates the reuse or recycle of glass. The largest concentration of copper busbar is produced by high-voltage pulsed discharge, which can be easily incorporated into smelting processes. The blending of low-concentration metal waste with other trash and ore changes the concentration criteria accepted in the smelting operations. Applying the detailed inventory data for the metal concentrations in this investigation could enhance the outcomes.