PURSILICON

Study of the influence of the physicochemical characteristics and purification of silicon from the recycling of photovoltaic panels on its electrochemical performance as anode material

Date

On 15/11/21

Type

Research project

Status

Started

Contact information

More information

The problem with recycling lies in the difficulty of setting up a sustainable and economically profitable business. The recycling of photovoltaic panels (PPV) is no exception to this rule, even if the future volumes to be recycled will be significant.

So, to boost the sector's profitability and enable it to develop more rapidly, it is crucial to focus on the purification of fractions at the end of the process, in order to optimize their value.

For example, the 5% mass silicon contained in a photovoltaic panel is currently regarded as a low-value waste product used as aggregate for metallurgical smelting furnaces, resulting in a considerable loss of earnings given the high initial purity of silicon (99.9999%) and the environmental impact associated with its production.

It is therefore imperative to consider an alternative way of recovering this silicon.

This is the background to the PurSilicon project, which is investigating the possibility of recovering silicon as an anode material for Li-ion batteries, and turning obsolete photovoltaic panels into a new source of high value-added raw material.

Project holder(s)

1 project holder(s) associated to this action.

Frédéric Boschini

Project holders

Host(s)

3 profile(s) associated to this action.

ULiège

The University of Liège is a public, pluralist university institution of the French-speaking Wallonia-Brussels Community.

Place du Vingt Août 7, 4000 Liège, Belgique

Last updated: 22/08/2024

View Groupe Comet - Traitements's profile

Groupe Comet - Traitements

The Group's Comet Traitements department specialises in the treatment and recycling of metal waste shredding residues: end-of-life vehicles (ELV), waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), scrap metal, etc. Comet processes 77% ferrous metals, as well as non-ferrous metals (copper, aluminium, etc.), minerals (glass, etc.) and, since 2012, plastics.

Rivage de Boubier 25, 6200 Châtelet, Belgique

Last updated: 28/03/2024

Become a member

Want to be among the actors ?

Being a member of the ReWaN Portal is mainly be a referenced actor, but it’s also follow news, events or newsletters !