Electrochemical Recycling of Photovoltaic Modules to Recover Metals and Silicon Wafers
At a Glance
Section titled āAt a Glanceā| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2021-09-30 |
| Journal | Chemie Ingenieur Technik |
| Authors | Christian Modrzynski, Luisa Blaesing, Sebastian Hippmann, Martin Bertau, Jonathan Z. Bloh |
| Institutions | Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, TU Bergakademie Freiberg |
| Citations | 21 |
Abstract
Section titled āAbstractāAbstract An electrochemicalāassisted leaching process using boronādoped diamond (BDD) electrodes was developed to recover valuable metals from photovoltaic modules. With BDD electrodes peroxydisulfate is generated from sulfuric acid to oxidatively dissolve copper, tin and silver from solar cell contacts. Since the oxidant is regenerated in the developed process, no additional hazardous and volatile chemicals are required, and the process can be operated solely by electricity. In addition, the dissolved metals can be electrochemically recovered at the cathode of the same cell.