- JinkoSolar has developed an innovative recycling process to dismantle solar panels, through this process 92% of the materials in the panel can be recycled, including all of the solar cells, front glass, back sheet, aluminum frame, copper wire, encapsulation material, junction box, and others.
Unlike the conventional recycling method, which makes the materials mix together, hard to separate, and become incomplete, JinkoSolar separates the glass and the silicon wafer through thermal, and mechanical processes, and takes advantage of the different melting points of encapsulation material like thermoset EVA/POE when the module is heated for disassembly. By the time the encapsulation material decomposed and solar modules become obsolete, the module can be easily dismantled into various parts. In this way, glass and ribbon, etc. can be separated from the panel as a whole, rather than as pellets. As result, this process not only can ensure the purity of the materials but also allows for silver to be extracted from the intact solar wafers.
Through this recycling process, about 99% of the key materials in solar panels, like silver, silicon, copper, and aluminum can be extracted from used panels and then repurposed or returned to the supply chain, creating a circular solar economy.
This recycling technology and commercialization at scale will ensure JinkoSolar’s EOL panels will be recycled and not discarded into landfill. In terms of product recycling, JinkoSolar has always adhered to zero incineration and lower carbon emissions.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
