Fabrication and Characteristics of Recyclable PV Modules

Since the life of crystalline silicon PV modules is mainly determined by that of the encapsulations and not of the cells, it is possible to reuse the cells, except when the cells are physically damaged. By reusing the cells, we can save the significant amount of energy consumed in the manufacture of PV cells, and reduce the total cost of PV modules as a consequence. PV cells are resources, and they should be recycled. However, it has not been easy to remove cells from modules without damaging them because of the very strong adhesiveness of EVA, the most common encapsulant resin. We propose a new PV module with a double encapsulation module (DEM) structure, in which both surfaces of the PV cells are wrapped with non-adhesive transparent films. Here, the concept of DEM is explained and detailed results from the fabrication of single-cell modules are presented. The results of PV cell recovery experiments and weather resistance tests are also shown.Copyright © 2003 by ASME