University of New South Wales (UNSW) engineers have developed a more efficient recycling technique that allows them to redeem up to 99% of the silver in scrapped solar panels. This new method could potentially alleviate an issue that is sure to become more significant over the years: we still cannot reliably recycle old solar panels.
As the world transitions from dirty fuels such as coal and oil to renewable energy, we will have to build up our solar-recycling capacity to deal with the impending influx of scrapped solar panels. UNSW researchers specifically developed this new recycling process to optimize the recycling process for photovoltaic panels and make it more efficient.
Recycling solar panels has been an extremely difficult challenge for the past few years as most of the individual components, including silicon, glass, plastic and metals, are combined in a way that makes them very hard to separate. Still, renewable energy such as solar desperately needs efficient recycling practices to offset the environmental impact of dead green-energy infrastructure and ensure the limited supply of metals used to build solar panels is supplemented by recycled components.
This has led to increased investment in research efforts to develop better recycling techniques, especially now that the United States is looking to build a domestic supply chain and limit its reliance on countries such as China to import critical metals. These efforts have culminated in engineers from the University of New South Wales developing a technique that could pull most of the silver in scraped solar panels, something previous recycling techniques could only dream of doing.
The technique first involves removing large components such as glass sheets and the aluminum frame from a solar panel before crushing the panel and putting the crushed remains into a vibrating sieving device. This device employs stainless steel balls to crush the solar panel debris into even smaller pieces to make for more effective separation. This crushing process takes only 15 minutes to separate 99% of the materials in a photovoltaic cell efficiently.
After the crushing is done, conventional chemical leaching and precipitation are used to pull specific elements such as pure silver and silica from the crushed particles. Researchers say this technique can pull out up to 99% of the silver in photovoltaic cells for future reuse. By their calculations, their novel recycling process could aid in the recovery of up to 50 million kilograms of silver waste by 2050.
The research team is now working with partners in the renewable energy industry to scale up the recycling technique and make it more economically feasible.
As these developments take root, we are likely to see major extractors such as Hecla Mining Company (NYSE: HL) integrating recycling activities into their operations to boost their returns on the silver market.
About MiningNewsWire
MiningNewsWire (MNW) is a specialized communications platform focused on developments and opportunities in the global resources sector. The company provides (1) access to a network of wire services via NetworkWire to reach all target markets, industries and demographics in the most effective manner possible, (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ news outlets (3), enhanced press release services to ensure maximum impact, (4) social media distribution via the Investor Brand Network (IBN) to millions of social media followers, and (5) a full array of corporate communications solutions. As a multifaceted organization with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, MNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, MNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. MNW is where news, content and information converge.
To receive SMS text alerts from MiningNewsWire, text “BigHole” to 844-397-5787 (U.S. Mobile Phones Only)
For more information, please visit https://www.miningnewswire.com
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the MiningNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by MNW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.miningnewswire.com/Disclaimer
MiningNewsWire
Los Angeles, California
www.miningnewswire.com
310.299.1717 Office
[email protected]
MiningNewsWire is part of the InvestorBrandNetwork.