Materials, Methods & Technologies, Volume 15, 2021

Abstract: For several years, the production of second generation cells (the so-called thin film), produced from amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride (CdTe) or copper indium (gallium) diselenide (CI(G)S), has been increasing. The total number of end-of-life panels by 2050 is expected to reach 9.57 million tonnes. They contain heavy metals that can be leached into the environment at the land field. The EU directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment WEEE2, introduced in 2012 obligated producers of photovoltaic panels to be responsible for the waste generated, and also for their disposal. Metal recovery would not only reduce the cost of cell production, but also reduce the consumption of raw materials. Therefore, the development of recycling technology for used and damaged modules of newer generations is important for environmental reasons. The aim of the research is to develop a recycling technology for second generation photovoltaic modules. The work is focused mainly on cells made of CdTe. The developed method can be applied after prior thermal delamination. The efficiency rate of cadmium leaching form the different sized samples depending on different leaching solutions was tested. The next stage will be to develop a technology for the recovery of individual metals from the leaching solution.