Solar panels have a lifespan of 20-30 years. In the past, without proper technology and infrastructure, only the aluminum frame and glass of solar panels would be removed and sold, but the profit was thin, and the silicon, silver and copper inside were difficult to extract.
Silicon-based solar panels account for the largest proportion of glass, followed by aluminum, accounting for about 80% in total, and precious metal components only account for about 6%, and there are many items, including silicon, silver, copper, tin, lead, zinc, etc. The high-value components are aluminium, silver, copper and polysilicon, with silver accounting for about 0.05% of the total weight but 14% of the material value. The bulky material is glass, the recovery rate is very high, and the resale price is between 600-800 per ton.
The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that 78 million tons of solar panels will reach the end of their life by 2050, generating an additional 6 million tons of solar e-waste annually.
The new recycling process can recover more metals and minerals, thus greatly improving economic efficiency. During the recycling process, there are junction boxes and aluminum alloy frame materials on the photovoltaic panels. We disassemble the aluminum alloy frame materials, and then use hot steel knives to wrap the silicon cells of different sizes in the solar panels. Separation from the surrounding glass is the processing method of a single-sided photovoltaic panel. The subsequent entire photovoltaic panel separates copper, silver, silicon, and plastic through physical crushing processing technology.
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