Life cycle assessment of CIGS thin-film including end-of-life options
Cita com:
hdl:2117/398222
CovenanteeTechnische Universiteit Eindhoven
Document typeMaster thesis
Date2023-11-17
Rights accessOpen Access
Except where otherwise noted, content on this work
is licensed under a Creative Commons license
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Spain
Abstract
CIGS thin-film is a mature PV technology with a wide variety of applications, especially for integration (i.e. on facades, blind systems, roof tiles). A growth of CIGS application is foreseen due to the fast-growing PV market and the advantages of the technology, including flexibility, lightweight, and esthetics. With the increased application, there are growing concerns regarding waste and material scarcity. However, recycling technology of CIGS thin-film is still in the early stages. In literature, only a few small to medium-scale CIGS recycling technologies are described. This raises several research questions that are addressed in the study: 1. What are the available end-of-life (EoL) management options for CIGS thin-film? 2. What are the environmental impacts of all a CIGS thin-film life cycle (including raw material extraction – processing – use – disposal/recycling)? a. What are the different environmental impacts of the varying end-of-life options for CIGS thin-film? b. From a methodological point of view, what are the different approaches available in the LCA field to incorporate various end-of-life scenarios be incorporated into the LCA study? c. What additional improvements can be suggested to the production of CIGS thin-film? This study is comprised of a literature review and a life cycle assessment (LCA). The literature review study findings provided an overview of current recycling technologies for thin-film PV and inputs for the LCA stage. To obtain the inputs, past LCA studies were evaluated on their goal and scope, main assumptions/parameters used, impact assessment method and categories, results interpretation, and End-of-Life (EoL) scenario used. A cradle-to-grave LCA is conducted in this study to measure the environmental impact of CIGS thin-film including its end-of-life. An avoided burden approach is adopted, where the assessments were calculated using ReCiPe Midpoint and Endpoint impact assessment methodology in SimaPro software. Four different EoL scenarios are modelled; (1) incineration, (2) bulk recycling as the base scenarios, along with two explorative scenarios of high- value recovery (recovering gallium and indium) with (3) mechanical approach, and (4) optical approach. The results show that the carbon footprint of each scenario respectively is: 29.1, 20.5, 22.9, and 25.4 g CO2 eq/kWh electricity produced. The major contributor to the environmental impacts is the frame and mounting used, where aluminium is selected. The EoL stage itself results in negative (avoided) environmental impacts only at the base scenario. This implies that current environmental prices to perform a high-value recovery process are still too high. This is mainly due to the chemicals used in the PV module treatment, especially in the metal leaching process. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was conducted on assumptions made (recovery rates, optical approach process) and base case scenario. From the LCA interpretation results, there are different implications concluded for varying stakeholders on how future disposal strategies should be strategically addressed. In the upcoming future, with increasing PV volume waste and a greener energy mix – the impact of high recovery processes environmental and economics can be improved. Future studies should therefore model prospective EoL management with future energy mix and possible process improvements
SubjectsSolar cells -- Materials -- Recycling, Product life cycle -- Environmental aspects -- Case studies, Cèl·lules solars -- Materials -- Reciclatge, Cicle de vida del producte -- Aspectes ambientals -- Estudi de casos
DegreeMÀSTER UNIVERSITARI EN ENGINYERIA DE L'ENERGIA (Pla 2013)
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