Physical and chemical pathways for economic recycling of cadmium telluride thin-film photovoltaic modules

There is a great potential that polycrystalline thin-film CdTe photovoltaic module technologies will be able to reduce manufacturing costs enough to open vast new markets. One aspect that must be addressed, however, is the environmental implication of Cd. In this paper, research conducted to explore...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sasala, R.A., Bohland, J., Smigielski, K.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Cadmium
Cadmium compounds
Chemical technology
Costs
Electroplating
Environmental economics
Hydrogen peroxide
Hydrometallurgy
Ion exchange
Manufacturing
Photovoltaic systems
Polycrystalline materials
Precipitation (chemical)
Q1
Recycling
Semiconductor materials
Solar power generation
Sulfuric acid
Thin films
Transistors
Water conservation
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Summary:There is a great potential that polycrystalline thin-film CdTe photovoltaic module technologies will be able to reduce manufacturing costs enough to open vast new markets. One aspect that must be addressed, however, is the environmental implication of Cd. In this paper, research conducted to explore possible economic and environmentally sensible recycling techniques is described. A successful mechanical treatment was water blasting with 40000 psi water. A successful chemical technique was dissolving the semiconductors and metals with 6% sulfuric acid and 1.5% hydrogen peroxide then treated by precipitation, electroplating, or ion exchange. The result of the study show an estimated net cost of 0.04-0.06/W.
ISSN:0160-8371
DOI:10.1109/PVSC.1996.564265