Separating materials from photovoltaic panels through thermomechanical processes and laser beams for the extraction of metals

Sérgio Pavani; Gilberto Pavani; Hugo Veit

doi:10.5327/Z2176-94782331

Autores

Sérgio Pavani Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM) - Brasil https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0840-0411
Gilberto Pavani Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS) - Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5744-1021
Hugo Veit Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) - Brasil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8843-8466

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5327/Z2176-94782331

Palavras-chave:

painel fotovoltaico; reciclagem; processos físicos; prata, silício, economia circular

Resumo

O painel fotovoltaico é composto de células de silício que convertem a luz solar em energia elétrica, apresentando vida útil média de 30 anos. Após esse período, os painéis precisam de um destino ambientalmente aceitável. O objetivo inicial deste trabalho foi desenvolver um pré-tratamento físico para separar componentes e encontrar a potência e a velocidade adequadas para a remoção do selante presente nas células fotovoltaicas com o uso de raio laser, visando facilitar a separação de metais de interesse comercial como prata, silício metálico, cobre e alumínio. A metodologia foi baseada no uso de células fotovoltaicas submetidas a um pré-tratamento termomecânico para a remoção de componentes e, depois, o uso de raio laser com diferentes potências e velocidades para encontrar a combinação adequada de parâmetros para a remoção do selante presente nas células fotovoltaicas. Após a remoção do ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), foi possível a retirada manual das fitas de cobre, bem como a remoção dos filamentos de prata e do silício metálico com uso de uma microrretífica e uma fresadora, obtendo-se um pó que foi analisado por fluorescência de raios X. Os resultados mostraram que é viável remover a junction box e o backsheet foil por um processo termomecânico e, em seguida, remover o EVA com raio laser com a potência de 450 W a 200 mm/s. As fitas de cobre, com teor médio de 91,71% de Cu, foram separadas manualmente. A remoção da prata e do silício metálico com a fresadora gerou um pó com 0,6% de Ag e 93% de Si.

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