Progress in recovery and recycling of kerf loss silicon waste in photovoltaic industry

• Published in: Separation and purification technology 2021-01, Vol.254, p.117581, Article 117581
• Main Authors: Li, Jingwei, Lin, Yinhe, Wang, Fanmao, Shi, Jian, Sun, Jifei, Ban, Boyuan, Liu, Guicheng, Chen, Jian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Impurities removal; Kerf loss silicon waste; Photovoltaic application; Silicon carbide; Silicon recovery
• ISSN: 1383-5866; 1873-3794
• DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2020.117581

•Source of silicon waste from photovoltaic industry is clarified.•Different technologies for silicon recovery and recycling are reviewed and compared.•Applications of kerf loss silicon waste are elaborated.•Recycling technologies evaluation of silicon waste is proposed. With the rapid growth of the photovoltaic (PV) industry, the amount of the silicon waste has substantially increased, resulting in serious environmental problems. This waste mainly consists of the silicon waste powder from kerf loss slurry of wire saw wafer cutting process and the scrap pieces from silicon ingot casting process. To reduce the cost of crystalline Si production and relief the existing environmental pollutions, it is of significant interest to recover and recycle the silicon value from the Si waste. This paper presents a literature overview of the current technologies and research progress in the recovery and recycling of high purity silicon from the silicon wastes generated in the PV industry. First, the source and classification of Si wastes, including slicing silicon waste and scraps of Si ingots are summarized. Second, various techniques related to the separation and recovery of high purity Si from the waste are reviewed and compared based on the experimental results. The characteristics and advantages of different technologies are evaluated based on the current conditions. Third, the applications of silicon waste are explored in a detailed manner. Last, the assessment of different Si recovery technologies is elaborated. This review gives an outlook on the recycling and recovery of high purity silicon from the silicon waste, which shows great potential for further research in this field.