Restoring the Reactivity of Organic Acid Solution Used for Silver Recovery from Solar Cells by Fractional Distillation

Jun-Kyu Lee,Young-Soo Ahn,Jin-Seok Lee,Gi-Hwan Kang

doi:10.3390/su11133659

Jun-Kyu Lee, Young-Soo Ahn + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133659

Copy DOI

Journal: Sustainability	Publication Date: Jul 3, 2019
Citations: 11	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Korea Institute of Energy Research

Abstract

Methanesulfonic acid (MSA) is used to recover silver (Ag) from solar cells by adding an oxidizing agent. It is possible to regenerate by substituting of H+ for Ag+, and thus it can be reused for additional reactions. However, MSA is highly hygroscopic, and as an oxidizing agent can easily decompose in the acidic environment during Ag extraction, leading to dilution due to the formation of H2O. This H2O in the MSA solution hinders the Ag extraction. In this study, we present a fractional distillation process for restoring the reactivity of reused MSA solutions by reducing the H2O content. Our results showed that the reactivity of the separated MSA was restored and Ag could be recovered from the solar cell.

Highlights

The disposal of wastes associated with end-of-life (EoL) photovoltaic (PV) modules is problematic [1]
EoL PV modules are designated as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), so programs must be in place for their collection, recovery, and recycling [4]
Yang et al [19] reported the recovery of Ag from crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells by using eco-friendly methanesulfonic acid (MSA) solutions

Summary

Introduction

The disposal of wastes associated with end-of-life (EoL) photovoltaic (PV) modules is problematic [1]. Ag is a very valuable material and has a relative value of almost half the cost of making PV modules [3] For this reason, some studies have reported on the recovery of Ag from PV module components [11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18], including extraction with inorganic acid [17,18]. Some studies have reported on the recovery of Ag from PV module components [11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18], including extraction with inorganic acid [17,18] This method is not environmentally friendly, as it results in the generation of waste solutions. 2N grade Ag was recovered from 6 commercial solar cells by MSA solution with restored reaction by fractional distillation

Recovery of Ag Using Reused Organic Solvent

Fractional Distillation of Organic Compounds

Fractional Distillation Behavior of an Organic Solvent and H2O Mixture

Findings

Recovery of Ag from Organic Solvent with Restored Reactivity