Abstract
Amongst the many parts of a silicon cells photovoltaic module, silicon is the most important and expensive constituent. Thus, research on silicon recycling from damaged cells can lead to economic and environmental benefits. In this work, the broken silicon cells were tailored to function along with the fluorine-doped tin oxide as the transparent electric conductors. The broken silicon cells were analyzed by the current density versus voltage plots, together with the Mott-Schottky, X-rays diffraction and fluorescence analysis. Under light, the damaged cells sandwiched between the two transparent electric conductors presented photovoltaic effect. However, such effect was not obtained after the removal of the antireflection layer due to the destruction of the n-type layer as demonstrated by the Mott-Schottky analysis. The X-rays diffraction revealed samples rich on silicon atoms and the presence of aluminum atoms as impurity.
Highlights
The conversion of solar energy into electricity by photovoltaic cells is an alternative to produce energy, besides being a cleaner path to energy production, when faced with the fossil fuels option
Silicon photovoltaic cells that were damaged during the assembly of didactic photovoltaic modules to be used in the practice classes of the Renewable Energy Engineering course at Federal University of Ceará were used as raw material
The photovoltaic cells electrical behavior was investigated under light and employed as a tool to analyze the quality of the cells . 11-16 The efficiency of light intensity conversion into electricity is the key parameter in the photovoltaic cells characterization
Summary
The conversion of solar energy into electricity by photovoltaic cells is an alternative to produce energy, besides being a cleaner path to energy production, when faced with the fossil fuels option. The silicon semiconductor has dominance on the market; its limited lifetime means that silicon photovoltaic modules will become electronic waste 1. The recycling of photovoltaic modules is important for the recovery of materials, reduction of costs and environmental impacts. The recycling is not economically advantageous without government incentives 2. For this reason, many damaged modules have been rejected into the environment without any recycling process, causing environmental negative effects 3. In opposition to others types of industrial waste, the photovoltaic waste is unique because there is a longer time between production and discard, approximately 20 years 4,5
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