Experimental investigation to evaluate the potential environmental hazards of photovoltaic panels.

Recently the potential environmental hazard of photovoltaic modules together with their management as waste has attracted the attention of scientists. Particular concern is aroused by the several metals contained in photovoltaic panels whose potential release in the environment were scarcely investigated. Here, for the first time, the potential environmental hazard of panels produced in the last 30 years was investigated through the assessment of up to 18 releasable metals. Besides, the corresponding ecotoxicological effects were also evaluated. Experimental data were compared with the current European and Italian law limits for drinking water, discharge on soil and landfill inert disposal in order to understand the actual pollution load. Results showed that less than 3% of the samples respected all law limits and around 21% was not ecotoxic. By considering the technological evolutions in manufacturing, we have shown that during the years crystalline silicon panels have lower tendency to release hazardous metals with respect to thin film panels. In addition, a prediction of the amounts of lead, chromium, cadmium and nickel releasable from next photovoltaic waste was performed. The prevision up to 2050 showed high amounts of lead (30t) and cadmium (2.9t) releasable from crystalline and thin film panels respectively.

[1]  V. Fthenakis,et al.  Environmental impacts from the installation and operation of large-scale solar power plants , 2011 .

[2]  Sujith Ravi,et al.  Environmental impacts of utility-scale solar energy , 2014 .

[3]  Pascal Pandard,et al.  Proposal for a “Harmonized” strategy for the assessment of the HP 14 property , 2013, Integrated environmental assessment and management.

[4]  Brajesh Dubey,et al.  Aquatic Toxicity of Leachates Generated from Electronic Devices , 2007, Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology.

[5]  E. Alsema,et al.  Photovoltaics energy payback times, greenhouse gas emissions and external costs: 2004–early 2005 status , 2006 .

[6]  H. A. van der Sloot,et al.  Ecotoxicological Response of Three Waste Samples in Relation to Chemical Speciation Modeling of Leachates , 2009 .

[7]  Vasilis Fthenakis,et al.  Life cycle inventory analysis of the production of metals used in photovoltaics , 2009 .

[8]  Hyung Chul Kim,et al.  Emissions from photovoltaic life cycles. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[9]  Vasilis Fthenakis,et al.  Life cycle impact analysis of cadmium in CdTe PV production , 2004 .

[10]  J. Devillers,et al.  Selecting a battery of bioassays for ecotoxicological characterization of wastes. , 2006, The Science of the total environment.

[11]  Sukmin Kang,et al.  Experimental investigations for recycling of silicon and glass from waste photovoltaic modules , 2012 .

[12]  E. A. Alsema,et al.  A novel approach for the recycling of thin film photovoltaic modules , 2010 .

[13]  Vasilis Fthenakis,et al.  End-of-life management and recycling of PV modules , 2000 .

[14]  M. V. Pablos,et al.  Use of a novel battery of bioassays for the biological characterisation of hazardous wastes. , 2009, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.

[15]  Joshua M. Pearce,et al.  Producer Responsibility and Recycling Solar Photovoltaic Modules , 2010 .

[16]  P. Samaras,et al.  Toxic Properties of Metals and Organotin Compounds and Their Interactions on Daphnia magna and Vibrio fischeri , 2004 .

[17]  Marco Tammaro,et al.  Thermal treatment of waste photovoltaic module for recovery and recycling: Experimental assessment of the presence of metals in the gas emissions and in the ashes , 2015 .

[18]  R Weltens,et al.  Screening tests for hazard classification of complex waste materials--selection of methods. , 2012, Waste management.

[19]  Guo-lan Huang,et al.  Toxic Effects of Organotin Species on Algae , 1996 .

[20]  Benjamin K. Sovacool,et al.  Assessing the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from solar PV and wind energy: A critical meta-survey , 2014 .

[21]  C. Hsieh,et al.  Toxicity of the 13 priority pollutant metals to Vibrio fisheri in the Microtox chronic toxicity test. , 2004, The Science of the total environment.

[22]  Vasilis Fthenakis,et al.  Energy Use and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Life Cycle of CdTe Photovoltaics , 2005 .

[23]  W. S. Abbott,et al.  A method of computing the effectiveness of an insecticide. 1925. , 1925, Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association.

[24]  Hongxing Yang,et al.  Review on life cycle assessment of energy payback and greenhouse gas emission of solar photovoltaic systems , 2013 .

[25]  C. Guéguen,et al.  Water toxicity and metal contamination assessment of a polluted river: the Upper Vistula River (Poland) , 2004 .

[26]  Christopher R. Cherry,et al.  Lead emissions from solar photovoltaic energy systems in China and India , 2011 .

[27]  Hyung Chul Kim,et al.  Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Electricity Generation , 2012 .

[28]  B. Wilke,et al.  Ecotoxicological characterization of hazardous wastes. , 2008, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety.