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The solar panel industry is booming as consumers look for a more sustainable energy method that reduces their electric bills. But for this initiative to truly have a green impact, solar panel recycling is a crucial part of the ecological equation.
Recovering materials from solar panels keeps them from ending up in already overflowing landfills and allows the recycled elements to be used in new solar panels, conserving these resources.
However, recovering the components of solar panels isn't as simple as it is for soda cans and junk mail. It can be an intimidating process because the panels must be disassembled so the parts can be recycled separately. But solar panel waste management services are emerging as a useful partner in this process.
As this aspect of the industry becomes more widely known, sustainable solar energy practices will become a key part of a solar power business's best practices. It makes good sense since solar panel recycling promotes sustainability and presents an opportunity for reducing material costs in the creation of new solar panels.
01 / Materials That Can Be Recycled
The essential components of solar panels have a considerable potential for reuse and recycling. Materials within the panels include metal frames, glass sheets, and copper wires, which can easily be reused. Other materials, such as lead, aluminum, silver, and rare metals, including indium and gallium, can also be recovered, and some of these are valuable or limited in supply, so recovering them becomes essential to the viability of the industry.
Some parts of the solar panels can be much more challenging to recycle due to the difficulty in melting the silicon cells down into a usable format. However, these silicon cells can still be melted down for reuse in certain facilities.
02 / Two Primary Types of Solar Panels
When it comes to recycling solar energy systems, it's helpful to understand the two main types of solar panels: thin film-based and silicone-based, because they are recycled differently.
Thin-Film Based Solar Panels
Thin-film solar panels, as their name implies, are thinner and lighter than other types of solar panels, but they work the same way. These panels contain material in which electrons move and generate electricity. Thin film-based panels can be made from a variety of different materials, which can affect how they are recycled. These panels are more difficult to recycle due to the need to recover the cadmium telluride in an environmentally-friendly manner. This process of recovering materials from solar panels requires the following steps:
The first step in recycling thin film-based solar panels is to shred them.
Next, the pieces of the panels are broken into smaller pieces in a hammermill until the pieces are approximately 4 to 5mm.
The laminate that held the materials together is discarded at this point, and a mix of solids and liquids will be left.
A centrifuge is then used to separate the solids from the liquid.
The liquid will go through a precipitation process, and the sediment will be processed as metal.
The solid semi-conductive material is separated from the glass by using a vibrating surface, and the glass is rinsed. Ninety-five percent of the semi-conductive material can be reused, and ninety percent of the glass.
Silicon-Based Solar Panels
Silicon-based solar panels are more common and easier to recycle. Here is how they are recycled.
The solar cells are disassembled to separate the aluminum from the glass. All of the aluminum can be reused, and ninety-five percent of the glass can be reused.
Next thermal processing is used. The materials that are left after removing the aluminum and glass are heated at 500 degrees Celsius, which causes the covering plastic to evaporate, thus leaving the solar modules. Eighty percent of these PV modules can be reused.
The melted plastic is reusable as a heat source.
The silicone wafers can be etched away with acid and then melted. Eighty-five percent of the silicone can be reused.
03 / Benefits of Solar Panel Waste Management
Solar power is good for the environment and consumers, from commercial businesses to homeowners. It is a renewable source of energy that doesn’t create carbon emissions, and using it can slow climate change. However, end-of-life solar panel solutions, such as recycling solar energy systems, are now essential to keep the many solar panels that will soon be reaching the end of their useful life out of landfills. Unless these panels and the toxic materials they contain are kept out of landfills, solar energy will not be as sustainable a source of energy as people hoped.
However, recycling can conserve the valuable materials in solar panels, so less mining is necessary. It can also help keep toxic substances, such as lead, out of landfills. Additionally, the $450 million in materials that could be recovered by 2030 from these panels could be used to make sixty million new solar panels, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.
When the materials from these recycled solar panels are reused to make new solar panels, it can decrease the cost of manufacturing solar panels, thus encouraging the manufacturing and use of solar panels. This can help to encourage a sustainable solar energy industry.
04 / Choose a Solar Panel Waste Management Partner You Can Trust
Businesses that manufacture or install solar panels can help make the solar energy industry more sustainable by recycling solar panels whenever disposal is needed. Partnering with a trusted recycler like MCF Environmental Services can prevent the waste and potential environmental harm that can come with landfilling materials such as lead, aluminum, silver, and rare metals such as indium and gallium. It also provides a cost-effective option for solar power manufacturers and providers looking to dispose of old or broken panels.
Every business should strive to include sustainability as a part of its core values, and for businesses and recyclers that deal with solar panels, this means guaranteeing the safe and sustainable disposal of any solar panels no longer suitable for use.
By working with a waste disposal expert, they can ensure the valuable materials inside of these solar energy devices are recovered and made ready for reuse in new solar panels. This process not only has the potential to lower prices for these recycled substances but also contributes to a more sustainable industry for solar energy panels.
MCF Environmental Services is proud to partner with manufacturers, installers, and recyclers who work with solar panels to appropriately dispose of this technology and divert the precious materials they contain away from landfills.
Robert Losurdo
President, COO
