A set of principles for applying Circular Economy to the PV industry: Modeling a closed-loop material cycle system for crystalline photovoltaic panels

Abstract

The growing popularity of crystalline silicon photovoltaic (C-Si PV) panels will generate a massive amount of waste when they reach their end-of-life (EoL) phase. For sustainable energy technology, we must implement an effective solar photovoltaic (PV) material recovery system. In this paper, the authors assess a Circular Economy (CE) system based on Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) philosophy as an alternative to tackle the daunting challenge of this waste and explore its impacts in the form of a Closed-Loop Material Cycle (CLMC). First, we discuss the novel concept of circular time, and material separation of C-Si PV materials is discussed by theoretically introducing a novel framework. Then, we recreate a numerical simulation experiment to evaluate the performance of the proposed theoretical model of a CLMC to assess the flow of silicon used in C-Si PV, aiding in future planning and logistics for a CE in the PV industry. The preliminary results obtained in the simulation show that it is not possible to close the material flow without introducing new raw material into the system, unless the operational lifespan of the PV panels is reduced. This research seeks to fill a gap in CE theoretical literature by introducing a new framework and identifying some of the challenges and limits of implementing a CE system in the form of a CLMC system based on C2C principles (C2C-CLMC).