A Circular Economy Systems Engineering Framework for Waste Management of Photovoltaic Panels

Abstract

The growing global population places immense pressure on natural resources, leading to extensive raw material extraction and substantial waste generation, which exacerbate resource depletion, ecosystem degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions. The problem has become particularly evident in addressing the increasing raw material needs for renewable energy investments consisting of solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries under limited and geographically constrained resources along with the problem of the end-of-life (EoL) management of retired systems. Transitioning to a circular economy (CE) offers a sustainable solution to this dual problem by creating regenerative processes and supply chains that prioritize reuse and the recovery of valuable materials, addressing resource needs, and waste problems. While CE aims to decouple economic growth from raw material dependency, balancing conflicting objectives of multiple stakeholders in industry, society, and government calls for advanced mathematical models to make informed investment, operations, and regulatory decisions. This study introduces an initial effort toward a holistic Circular Economy Systems Engineering framework, integrating multidisciplinary approaches to systematically design, operate, and optimize cost-effective, environmentally conscious, and resilient systems that close material and energy loops while addressing economic, environmental, and social objectives under resource constraints. In this research, we present a multiobjective optimization framework for EoL management of photovoltaic panels, combining cost and life-cycle assessment (LCA) driven CO₂ equivalent emissions parameters in a mixed-integer linear programming approach to explore optimal strategies for resource recovery and waste management. The framework helps identify optimal solutions tailored to waste management strategies. A case study on monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic recycling and production demonstrates the framework’s ability to investigate the trade-offs between economic and environmental objectives, highlighting its potential to advance CE strategies by recovering critical resources and supporting sustainable practices in complex forward and reverse supply chains.