Department of Power Mechanical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, No. 101, Sec. 2, Kuang Fu Rd., 30013, Hsinchu, Taiwan ROC.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2019 Oct;26(29):29524-29531. doi: 10.1007/s11356-018-1918-1. Epub 2018 Apr 10.
The issue of recycling waste solar cells is critical with regard to the expanded use of these cells, which increases waste production. Technology establishment for this recycling process is essential with respect to the valuable and hazardous metals present therein. In the present study, the leaching potentials of Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Penicillium simplicissimum were assessed for the recovery of metals from spent solar cells, with a focus on retrieval of the valuable metal Te. Batch experiments were performed to explore and compare the metal removal efficiencies of the aforementioned microorganisms using spent media. P. chrysogenum spent medium was found to be most effective, recovering 100% of B, Mg, Si, V, Ni, Zn, and Sr along with 93% of Te at 30 °C, 150 rpm and 1% (w/v) pulp density. Further optimization of the process parameters increased the leaching efficiency, and 100% of Te was recovered at the optimum conditions of 20 °C, 200 rpm shaking speed and 1% (w/v) pulp density. In addition, the recovery of aluminum increased from 31 to 89% upon process optimization. Thus, the process has considerable potential for metal recovery and is environmentally beneficial.
对于扩大这些电池的使用，处理废太阳能电池的问题至关重要，因为这会增加废物的产生。考虑到其中存在有价值和危险的金属，建立这种回收工艺的技术至关重要。在本研究中，评估了嗜酸硫杆菌、氧化亚铁硫杆菌、产黄青霉和简单青霉的浸出潜力，以从废太阳能电池中回收金属，重点是回收有价值的金属碲。进行了批处理实验，以探索和比较上述微生物使用废培养基的金属去除效率。发现产黄青霉废培养基最有效，在 30°C、150rpm 和 1%（w/v）浆密度下，可回收 100%B、Mg、Si、V、Ni、Zn 和 Sr，以及 93%的 Te。进一步优化工艺参数提高了浸出效率，在最佳条件 20°C、200rpm 摇床速度和 1%（w/v）浆密度下，可回收 100%的 Te。此外，铝的回收率从 31%提高到 89%。因此，该工艺在金属回收方面具有很大的潜力，并且对环境有益。
