Sampling Method for Leaching Testing of Lead Perovskite-Silicon Tandem Photovoltaic Modules

As a result of field failure or improper treatment of end-of-life modules, toxic chemicals may leach out of photovoltaic (PV) modules. Moreover, the leaching out behavior decides about the legal classification into non-hazardous or hazardous waste in various jurisdictions. Consequently, this is an important property to study for PV modules. However, the preparation of representative samples from PV modules is not straightforward due to their inhomogeneity and size. Since 2022, there is a standard practice for sampling in the US while no standardization was made in the EU, so far. In this contribution, a complementary mechanical sampling method is presented showing similar accuracy as the US standard practice, however, using simpler techniques. This new sampling method is tested and validated for lead-based perovskite-silicon tandem PV modules and crystalline silicon PV modules.