Technical challenges and opportunities in realising a circular economy for waste photovoltaic modules

Farrell, Charlie; Osman, Ahmed I.; Doherty, Rory; Saad, Mohd Hafiez Izzwan; Zhang, Xiaolei; Murphy, Adrian; Harrison, John; Vennard, Ashlene; Kumaravel, Vignesh; Al-Muhtaseb, Ala’a H.; Rooney, David

doi:10.1016/j.rser.2020.109911

Cited by 184 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 92 publications

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“…Then, this was followed by the distillation and titration steps and then calculated as per Eqs. (7) and (8) Rumen liquor collection. Rumen liquor used in the experiments was collected from a fistulated cow in the "Agricultural Experiment Station, Sultan Qaboos University".…”

Section: Biogas Production and Methane Concentration (21 Days-time Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Leachate could also pollute underground water and soil along with the release of methane which is a potent greenhouse gas with a short-term global warming potential that is 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide 2 – 4 . On the other hand, using food waste as a potential source for the production of sustainable fuels will complete the full cycle of this waste stream sustainably and thus, directly support and facilitate the concept of the circular economy in the form of open-loop recycling 5 – 8 . One of the promising ways of dealing with such waste stream is through processing via anaerobic digestion (AD) to produce biogas 9 , 10 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Techno-economic evaluation of biogas production from food waste via anaerobic digestion

Al-Wahaibi

Osman

Al-Muhtaseb

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

113

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Food waste is a major constituent in municipal solid wastes and its accumulation or disposal of in landfills is problematic, causing environmental issues. Herein, a techno-economic study is carried out on the potential of biogas production from different types of food waste generated locally. The biogas production tests were at two-time sets; 24-h and 21-day intervals and results showed a good correlation between those two-time sets. Thus, we propose to use the 24-h time set to evaluate feedstock fermentation capacity that is intended for longer periods. Our approach could potentially be applied within industry as the 24-h test can give a good indication of the potential substrate gas production as a quick test that saves time, with minimal effort required. Furthermore, polynomial models were used to predict the production of total gas and methane during the fermentation periods, which showed good matching between the theoretical and practical values with a coefficient of determination R2 = 0.99. At day 21, the accumulative gas production value from mixed food waste samples was 1550 mL per 1 g of dry matter. An economic evaluation was conducted and showed that the case study breaks-even at $0.2944 per cubic metre. Any prices above this rate yield a positive net present value (NPV); at $0.39/m3 a discounted payback period of six years and a positive NPV of $3108 were calculated. If waste management fee savings are to be incorporated, the total savings would be higher, increasing annual cash flows and enhancing financial results. This economic evaluation serves as a preliminary guide to assess the economic feasibility based on the fluctuating value of methane when producing biogas from food waste via anaerobic digestion, thus could help biogas project developers investigate similar scale scenarios .

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Section: Biogas Production and Methane Concentration (21 Days-time Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Techno-economic evaluation of biogas production from food waste via anaerobic digestion

Al-Wahaibi

Osman

Al-Muhtaseb

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

113

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“…Furthermore, direct burning of those plastic wastes generates hazardous emissions along with chemicals such as phosgene, dioxins, and carbon monoxide that are linked to human cancers and endocrine disruption [8,9]. However, it is possible to add additional value to this waste through processes such as pyrolysis, solvent dissolution, gasification, and other valorisation approaches while promoting the circular economy [10,11]. This approach of using a waste stream will complete the full cycle of plastic and, thus, directly support and facilitate the concept of the circular economy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pyrolysis kinetic modelling of abundant plastic waste (PET) and in-situ emission monitoring

et al. 2020

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Background: Recycling the ever-increasing plastic waste has become an urgent global concern. One of the most convenient methods for plastic recycling is pyrolysis, owing to its environmentally friendly nature and its intrinsic properties. Understanding the pyrolysis process and the degradation mechanism is crucial for scale-up and reactor design. Therefore, we studied kinetic modelling of the pyrolysis process for one of the most common plastics, polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The focus was to better understand and predict PET pyrolysis when transitioning to a low carbon economy and adhering to environmental and governmental legislation. This work aims at presenting for the first time, the kinetic triplet (activation energy, pre-exponential constant, and reaction rate) for PET pyrolysis using the differential iso-conversional method. This is coupled with the in-situ online tracking of the gaseous emissions using mass spectrometry. Results: The differential iso-conversional method showed activation energy (E a) values of 165-195 kJ mol −1 , R 2 = 0.99659. While the ASTM-E698 method showed 165.6 kJ mol −1 and integral methods such as Flynn-Wall and Ozawa (FWO) (166-180 kJ mol −1). The in-situ Mass Spectrometry results showed the gaseous pyrolysis emissions, which are C 1 hydrocarbons and H-O-C=O along with C 2 hydrocarbons, C 5-C 6 hydrocarbons, acetaldehyde, the fragment of O-CH=CH 2 , hydrogen, and water. Conclusions: From the obtained results herein, thermal predictions (isothermal, non-isothermal and step-based heating) were determined based on the kinetic parameters. They can be used at numerous scale with a high level of accuracy compared with the literature.

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“…The near BAT 'design for recyclability' silicon module is noteworthy given the need to consider the end of life scenarios for a rapidly increasing module stock. Currently, the majority of module designs present various technical difficulties and challenges at the moment of seeking to dismantle them to recovery materials for recycling 45 . Once the junction box and aluminium frame (if present) have been removed, the main difficulty is to separate the encapsulated components as well as the soldered connections and tabbing of the cells.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential regulatory approaches on the environmental impacts of photovoltaics: Expected improvements and impacts on technological innovation

Polverini

Nicholas

Espinosa

2020

Progress in Photovoltaics

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This work assesses the opportunities for technological development and innovation that may be imposed or created by environmental policy. Working within the legislative framework of European Union (EU) sustainable product policies, a study of the feasibility of four specific policy instruments (Ecodesign Directive, Energy Labelling, Green Public Procurement and the EU Ecolabel) to photovoltaic products (modules, inverters and systems) led to the identification of key performance metrics and design features. Starting from an analysis of the environmental hotspots of photovoltaic products throughout the whole life cycle (from raw material extraction to their end of life and disposal), a number of areas of attention for innovation are identified and a policy approach is proposed to tackle these aspects in regulatory terms by means, in particular, of requirements within the legal framework of the Ecodesign Directive.

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Technical challenges and opportunities in realising a circular economy for waste photovoltaic modules

Cited by 184 publications

References 92 publications

Techno-economic evaluation of biogas production from food waste via anaerobic digestion

Techno-economic evaluation of biogas production from food waste via anaerobic digestion

Pyrolysis kinetic modelling of abundant plastic waste (PET) and in-situ emission monitoring

Potential regulatory approaches on the environmental impacts of photovoltaics: Expected improvements and impacts on technological innovation

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