Enhanced separation of different layers in photovoltaic panel by microwave field

With the rapid increase of photovoltaic (PV) system production and installation, the recycling of end-of-life PV modules has become a grave issue. In this paper, a new method of microwave-enhanced EVA film swelling and separation for PV panels recycling was innovatively proposed. The results showed that the separation speed of different layers in microwave can be significantly accelerated. Different swelling agents were compared and trichloroethylene was proved to be the most effective. The analysis of dielectric loss and thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) of different layers indicated that the good absorbing property of antireflection layer and the difference of TEC accelerate the swelling separation. Different conditions such as temperature and liquid-solid ratio were also carried out to optimized separation. The mechanism of microwave enhanced EVA swelling has been analyzed by thermogravimetry and infrared analysis. This study has a good guiding significance for the green and efficient recycling of PV panels.