A Low-Cost Mechanical Recycling Technique to Recover Metal and Glass from Used Solar Photovoltaic Panels

The projection of conversion from non-renewable sources of energy to greener ones is projected to rise in the coming years and decades to combat the rising effect of global warming. One of the most commonly used and dependent source of renewable energy across the world is solar energy which is largely harnessed by polycrystalline photovoltaic panels (PV). As any other material subjected to the harsh environmental conditions of UV, rain and wind, PV panels have an equally limited durability in service which is limited to 25–30 years. The surge in solar farms and increasing use of PV panels in the last decades is prompting for a new approach to look at the recycling of PV panels in order to re-use existing resources and minimize the adverse impact of waste disposal in the environment. In this study, a low-cost mechanical system to dismantle and recycle the frame structure of PV panels is proposed. The study mainly focuses on the design, testing and manufacturing of the recycling equipment. The findings of this study aim to raise the awareness about the recycling of widely used materials and components in PV panels and to drive new approaches at promoting recycling.