Experimental study on PV module recycling with organic solvent method

We propose an organic solvent method to recover silicon cells from conventi onal crystalline silicon PV modules. From dissolution tests of EVA by vario us kinds of organic solvents, it was found that trichloroethylene could dis solve cross-linked EVA sample kept at 80 degreesC. Applying this method to "one cell" module (125 x 125 mm), it was found that mechanical pressure is important to suppress swelling of the EVA. After immersing the module in tr ichloroethylene at 80 degreesC for 10 days, we have successfully recovered the silicon cell without any damage. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rig hts reserved.