Characteristics Of Waste Crystalline Silicon Solar Panels And LCA Research

This study used leaching toxicity of crystalline silicon solar cells in the decommissioning phases, as well as its life cycle assessment, to explore the environmental impact of their retirement phase. And use the result of leaching toxicity of waste crystalline silicon solar cells as environmental emissions of life cycle assessment.In this study, three different extraction methods as "Horizontal vibration method" (HJ/T 557-2010), "Sulphuric acid & nitric acid method" (HJ/T 299-2007), "Acetic acid buffer solution method" (HJ/T 300-2007) were used to explore the heavy metal dissolution law of crystalline silicon solar cells’ cell and cover glass. The results indicate that almost no leaching of heavy metals was found in cover glass, it can be disposed as general industrial solid wastes. For cells, leaching effect is most obvious when using method of "Acetic acid buffer solution", especially Pb, the leaching concentration of Multi-silicon solar cells’ cell’ Pb was 33.27 mg/L, more than 6.65 times beyond the standard; the leaching concentration of Mono-silicon solar cells’ cell was 12.56 mg/L,2.5 times more than the identification criteria. The leaching amount of "horizontal vibration method " and " sulphuric acid & nitric acid method" needn’t to be considered. According to "Hazardous Waste Identification Standard Leaching Toxicity Identification" (GB 5085.3-2007), crystalline silicon solar cell’ cells must be treated as hazardous waste, and disposed as hazardous waste in accordance with regulatory requirements.On the basis of tracking the theoretical research of life cycle assessment progress and reviewing the development process of crystalline silicon solar cells, use the theory of LCA, and with the help of GaBi database platform’ built-in CML2001 methods, obtained life cycle inventory (LCI) of crystalline silicon solar cells by manual dismantling, then quantitative assessed the environmental impact of its life cycle. Including Global Warming Potential (GWP), Acidification Potential (AP), Eutrophication Potential (EP), Human Toxicity Potential (HTP), Ozone Layer Depletion Potential (ODP), Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential (POCP), Abiotic Depletion of fossil (ADP), Terrestric Eco-toxicity Potential (TETP), Freshwater Aquatic Eco-toxicity Pot (FAETP), Marine Aquatic Eco-toxicity (MAETP). The results showed that the environmental impact of each type, energy consumption in the process of dismantling accounted for the largest proportion, and other components recycling or incinerating can offset the environmental impact to a certain extent. Taking into account the best way to reduce the environmental impact of crystalline silicon solar cells in scrap stage, attention should pay to explore a lower energy consumption dismantling way and a reasonable recovery mode.