Abstract
Energy recovery from renewable sources is a very attractive, and sometimes, challenging issue. To recover solar energy, the production of photovoltaic (PV) modules becomes a prosperous industrial certainty. An important material in PV modules production and correct functioning is the encapsulant material and it must have a good performance and durability. In this work, accurate characterizations of performance and durability, in terms of photo- and thermo-oxidation resistance, of encapsulants based on PolyEthylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) and PolyOlefin Elastomer (POE), containing appropriate additives, before (pre-) and after (post-) lamination process have been carried out. To simulate industrial lamination processing conditions, both EVApre-lam and POEpre-lam sheets have been subjected to prolonged thermal treatment upon high pressure. To carry out an accurate characterization, differential scanning calorimetry, rheological and mechanical analysis, FTIR and UV-visible spectroscopy analyses have been performed on pre- and post-laminated EVA and POE. The durability, in terms of photo- and thermo-oxidation resistance, of pre-laminated and post-laminated EVA and POE sheets has been evaluated upon UVB exposure and prolonged thermal treatment, and the progress of degradation has been monitored by spectroscopy analysis. All obtained results agree that the lamination process has a beneficial effect on 3D-structuration of both EVA and POE sheets, and after lamination, the POE shows enhanced rigidity and appropriate ductility. Finally, although both EVA and POE can be considered good candidates as encapsulants for bifacial PV modules, it seems that the POE sheets show a better resistance to oxidation than the EVA sheets.
Highlights
Today, energy recovery from renewable sources and processes with less environmental and human health impacts, and the gradual release of traditional fossil fuel sources, due to their high carbon dioxide and pollutants production, are challenges and necessary issues
Accurate characterizations of performance and durability, in terms of photo- and thermo-oxidation resistance, of encapsulants based on PolyEthylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) and PolyOlefin Elastomer (POE), containing appropriate additives, before and after lamination process have been carried out
To simulate industrial lamination processing conditions, both EVApre-lam and POEpre-lam sheets have been subjected to prolonged thermal treatment upon high pressure
Summary
Energy recovery from renewable sources and processes with less environmental and human health impacts, and the gradual release of traditional fossil fuel sources, due to their high carbon dioxide and pollutants production, are challenges and necessary issues. The energy recovery considering sunlight, winds and tides is extremely attractive and the development of solar photovoltaic (PV) devices for efficient energy recovery is one of the most important research fields. This innovative heterojunction technology, combining amorphous and crystalline silicon, offers high performance and efficiency in energy recovery, even in extreme climatic conditions [2]. An important issue in PV modules construction and assembling is the use of appropriate encapsulant materials that can protect efficiently the active PV elements ensuring device high performance
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