Recycling of the Solar Panels

​We are gradually shifting towards renewable energy and solar energy growth was phenomenal in the last decade. The constant price dip with the increase in efficiency are the two main reasons behind their growth. 

​The solar panels with the average operational life of 30 years give a very long time to enjoy cheap and clean electricity for decades. The solar panels installed in the late 70s or early 80s are on the verge of completing their operational lifetime and recycling their e-waste is going to be the major concern for many regulating authorities around the world. 

Why Recycle?

• The Solar electricity benefits will be short-lived and will have environmental hazards if these panels are not treated properly after their operational life. Simply, land-filling the solar panels and left them for burning is not the solution as it will contaminate the air, water, and soil. The solar cells are made up of heavy metals like cadmium and lead can create a potential hazard in the health and the environment if left untreated.
• Moreover, some solar cells also contain rare metalloids like Gallium and Indium, just burning the solar panels will permanently vanish these rare elements from the earth’s crust.
• Recycling will also be economically beneficial and impactful as it will create more job opportunities in the solar sector. The solar recycling industry is going to be a huge market as it is predicted that by 2050, the world will be producing 2 billion solar panels from the recycled material.
• The Solar industry will create a double impact in the economy one for generating the electricity and another for recycling the solar panels.

Recycling process

The most of the solar panel’s parts can be recycled and can be reused. The solar panel is mainly made up of the following parts:

• Silicon cell
• Glass frame
• Plexiglass
• Metal framing

Although, separating all these components from one product is a complex process but it is possible. Therefore, the solar panels can’t be recycled is a MYTH. The Silicon-based solar panels have the following composition:

1. 76% glass
2. 10% Plastic
3. 8% Aluminium
4. 5% Silicon
5. 1% Metal

The recycling process starts with disassembling the aluminium and the glass parts. 95% of the disassembled glass and 100% of the metal is reused for making the panel. The remaining material is treated at 500-600 degrees temperature to extract the silicon cells. Due to the high temperature, the plastic coating over the cells fuses and finally evaporates, leaving the silicon cells naked for further processing. The thermal processing technology is so advanced that nothing goes waste, the evaporated plastic is further reused to facilitate the thermal processing. The silicon wafers can be etched manually and 80% of it can be reused. The broken wafers are melted through thermal processing which is further used for manufacturing the silicon cell (85% of it can be reused).
In total, 90-95% of the material can be reused for making the new solar panels.

Solar waste management

In order to make the recycling process feasible, the solar cell manufacturers must fulfill certain legal conditions and maintain strict recycling standards so that the solar panels after their operational life do not become a burden to the environment. The solar panel recycling is at nascent stage, it requires time to be widely implemented across the globe and requires further research to explore its potential to the maximum extent.
The constant dip in the solar panel pricing is helping solar market to flourish and obviously it will have a direct impact on the recycling industry. In fact, the recycling market needs the investment to set the basic infrastructure for the recycling of the solar panels.
However, in Europe, the solar panels disposal comes under the European Union waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) directive and is strictly maintained and regulated.
The similar directives must be implemented across the globe with the consensus of manufacturers, suppliers, consumers and the regulating bodies in order to tackle the recycling process more effectively and efficiently.
We still have plenty of time before recycling of the solar panels becomes a major issue. But acting proactively will help us in taking the best course of action in tackling the recycling of the panels.

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