Extraction and Recovery of Polyethylenevinylacetate from a Silicon Solar Module Using the “Organic Solvent” Method and the Possibility of its Reuse

Abstract

Today, silicon solar modules (SM) represent the most efficient and environmentally friendly renewable energy source. However, as the market for these modules grows, problems with waste and environmental sustainability arise in parallel. Creating SM recycling technologies that fully circulate materials without waste and reuse components is a key issue that must be addressed within corporate social responsibility frameworks for environmental protection. An important step in resin recycling is separating the laminate from poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA), which is commonly used as an adhesive in resin. Work has been done to reduce EVA using various organic solvents, with parameters such as type of solvent, residence time, and temperature taken into account. It was found that chlorinated hydrocarbons, such as trichloroethylene, chlorobenzene and chloroform, can effectively cause EVA swelling due to their polarity. Aromatic hydrocarbons like toluene and o-xylene provide sufficient interaction with EVA, which makes them more advantageous for industrial applications since they pose less danger than chlorine-containing solvents. Among the solvents tested, toluene turned out to be the best. The second series of tests were carried out using toluene alone, optimizing the separation process of EVA from SM components. The recovered EVA was then studied using various methods, including NMR, UV, Fourier spectroscopy, TGA, and DSC. These studies showed that reconstituted and reference EVAs exhibited similar properties without significant changes in composition. This indicates that reconstituted EVAs can be reused in SM or other applications.