Sharma A, Mahajan P, Garg R
Department of Electrical Engineering, Delhi Technological University, Shahbad Daulatpur, Main Bawana Road, 110042 Delhi, India.
Int J Environ Sci Technol (Tehran). 2023 May 7:1-20. doi: 10.1007/s13762-023-04953-2.
Presently, India is in the stage of installation of solar photovoltaic panels and no focus is being given towards the impending problem of handling solar waste. The absence of adequate regulations, guidelines and operational infrastructure for photovoltaic waste in the country may lead to waste being inappropriately landfilled or incinerated in a manner that may be detrimental to human health and the environment. Business as usual projection estimates 6.64 million tonnes and 5.48 million tonnes of waste generation due to the early and regular losses using the Weibull distribution function, respectively by 2040 in India. The current study also systematically investigates various policies and legislation developments on the end-of-life of photovoltaic modules in various regions of the world, to identify gaps for further assessment. Using life cycle assessment methodology, this paper compares the environmental impacts of landfilling end-of-life crystalline silicon panels with avoided burden approach due to the recycling of materials. It has been demonstrated that solar photovoltaic recycling and reusing the recovered materials will result in impact reduction in the forthcoming production phase by as high as 70%. Further, the outcomes of carbon footprint, single score indicator with the application of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change also predicts lower values for avoided burden approach due to recycling (15,393.96 kgCO eq) in comparison to landfill approach (19,844.054 kg CO eq). The outcomes of this study aim to illuminate the importance of the sustainable management of photovoltaic panels at end-of-life.
目前，印度正处于太阳能光伏板安装阶段，尚未关注即将到来的太阳能废弃物处理问题。该国缺乏针对光伏废弃物的适当法规、指南和运营基础设施，可能导致废弃物被不当填埋或焚烧，这可能对人类健康和环境有害。按照常规预测估计，到2040年，印度因早期和定期损耗，分别将产生664万吨和548万吨废弃物，使用威布尔分布函数进行估算。本研究还系统地调查了世界各地区关于光伏组件报废的各种政策和立法发展情况，以找出有待进一步评估的差距。本文采用生命周期评估方法，将报废晶体硅面板填埋的环境影响与材料回收所避免的负担方法进行了比较。结果表明，太阳能光伏回收及回收材料的再利用将使未来生产阶段的影响降低高达70%。此外，应用政府间气候变化专门委员会的碳足迹、单一评分指标的结果也预测，与填埋方法（19,844.054千克二氧化碳当量）相比，回收所避免的负担方法（15,393.96千克二氧化碳当量）的值更低。本研究结果旨在阐明光伏板报废时可持续管理的重要性。
