[Report] Recycling of Solar Panels: Comparison of scenarios for a more circular and safe product chain
By J.P.A. Lijzen, F. Heens, E. Dekker, M. van Bodegraven, and M. Hof
RIVM
May 20, 2024
The Netherlands has set a target of a circular economy by 2050. This entails that raw and manufactured materials, such as those in solar panels, are recycled. Currently, no raw materials are recovered from End-of-Life solar panels. It is expected that the first generation of solar panels will start to be taken out of use in large numbers in five years' time. It is important to be prepared for this and to recycle the panels safely and sustainably. Various technologies to recycle solar panels are being developed. RIVM has detailed four options for recycling the glass, solar cells and back sheets of solar panels. The materials recovered from solar panels can be reused as raw materials for various applications. For this study, we looked into which recycling options appear to be feasible in practice and how environmentally friendly they are. We compared these four options to the current situation (the baseline), in which the solar panels are shredded, the glass is crushed and used as an abrasive medium in the metal industry, and the remainder is then processed for various applications, such as for road bases. Our analysis shows that all four options are more circular and environmentally friendly than the baseline. Energy consumption differs for each option, but is much lower than for the baseline. This is due to various factors, including the fact that it costs more energy to process new raw materials into solar panels than to work with recycled raw materials. The option whereby glass is recycled into new glass for solar panels is the most circular one. In this case, the raw material silicon can also be recycled for use in new solar panels. This is technologically complex, but feasible. In the recycling process, attention must be paid to hazardous substances in solar panels: lead, antimony and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Lead is contained in soldering materials and antimony is added to make the glass brighter. The backsheets of solar panels contain PFAS as fluoropolymers, as a result of which PFAS can be released when they are incinerated. The way in which solar panels are recycled determines if and how substances are released and whether humans and the environment are exposed to them. RIVM advises the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW) to stimulate the technological developments that enable the recycling of solar panels. This would ensure that these or comparable recycling options are feasible in five years' time. RIVM also recommends IenW to stimulate design for recycling for solar panels. This applies, for example, to developing other encapsulant materials between the glass and the backsheet to enable easier dismantling. It is also important to minimise the use of hazardous substances. Panels without lead and PFAS are already available on the market.
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