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Separation of Valuable Metal from Waste Photovoltaic Ribbon through Extraction and Precipitation

  • Chen, Wei-Sheng (Department of Resource engineering, National Cheng-Kung University) ;
  • Chen, Yen-Jung (Department of Resource engineering, National Cheng-Kung University) ;
  • Yueh, Kai-Chieh (Department of Resource engineering, National Cheng-Kung University)
  • Received : 2019.12.06
  • Accepted : 2020.03.16
  • Published : 2020.04.30

Abstract

With rapid increasing production and installation, recycling of photovoltaic modules has become the main issue. According to the research, the accumulation of waste modules will reach to 8600 tons in 2030. Moreover, Crystalline-silicon (c-Si) Photovoltaic modules account for more than 90% of the waste. C-Si PV modules contain 1.3% of weight of photovoltaic ribbon inside which contains the most of lead, tin and copper in the PV modules, which would cause environmental and humility problem. This study provided a valuable metal separation process for PV ribbons. Ribbons content 82.1% of Cu, 8.9% of Sn, 5.2% of Pb, and 3.1% of Ag. All of them were leached by 3M of hydrochloric acid in the optimal condition. Ag was halogenated to AgCl and precipitated. Cu ion was extracted and separated from Pb and Sn by Lix984N then stripped by 3M H2SO4. The effect of the optimal parameters of extraction was also studied in this essay. The maximum extraction efficiency of Cu ion was 99.64%. The separation condition of Pb and Sn were obtained by adjusting the pH value to 4 thought ammonia to precipitate and separate Pb and Sn. The recovery of Pb and Sn can reach 99%.

최근 급격히 증가하는 생산량과 설치로 태양광모듈의 재활용이 주요 이슈가 되고 있다. 연구 결과에 따르면, 폐 태양광모듈의 양은 2030년에는 약 8600톤에 달할 것으로 예상되며, 결정질 실리콘 태양광 모듈은 그 가운데 약 90%에 달할 것으로 예상하고 있다. 결정질 실리콘 태양광 모듈은 중량비로 약 1.3%의 태양광 리본을 함유하며, 이 태양광 리본은 태양광 모듈에 함유된 대다수의 납, 주석, 구리를 포함하는 것으로 알려져 있다. 이에 본 연구는 태양광 리본으로부터 유가금속을 분리하고자 시도되었다. 샘플 분석 결과 태양광 리본은 약 82.1% 구리, 8.9% 주석, 5.2% 납, 그리고 3.1% 은을 포함하는 것으로 확인되었다. 침출 실험은 3M 염산을 사용하였고, 침출 된 은 이온은 염화은의 할로겐 화합물로 회수되었다. 구리의 경우, Lix984N을 이용해 납과 주석으로부터 분리되었고, 3M의 황산을 이용해 스트리핑 되었다. 한편, 최적 조건하에서 구리 침출 효율은 약 99.64%이었다. 납과 주석의 경우, 수소이온 농도 조절을 통해 분리될 수 있었으며, 이 경우, 회수율은 약 99%이었다.

Keywords

References

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Cited by

  1. Hydrochloric Acid Leaching Behaviors of Copper and Antimony in Speiss Obtained from Top Submerged Lance Furnace vol.10, pp.10, 2020, https://doi.org/10.3390/met10101393