Life Cycle Assessment of Recycling Waste Glass from Retired Photovoltaic Modules

As the cumulative waste of retired photovoltaic (PV) modules is projected to exceed 1 million tons by 2030, the resultant loss of silicon, glass, and valuable metals has become a critical concern. Therefore, life cycle assessment (LCA) of the treatment and utilization of PV waste (especially waste glass, which accounts for 70 wt % of retired PV panels) is crucial. In this work, the environmental assessment of different utilization pathways for waste glass from retired PV panels using the LCA methodology is addressed. The LCA results confirm the substantial environmental benefits of upcycling waste glass into flat glass through substitution. Compared to primary manufacturing, recycling of waste glass to flat glass provides benefits of 5–18% in 11 environmental indicators of CML 2001. The global warming potential (GWP) reduces from 203.44 kg CO₂-eq to 180.56 kg CO₂-eq compared to downgrading to cement; upcycling also performs better in the five environmental indicators. Additionally, scenario analyses based on the Chinese domestic industry with the focus on the electricity architecture of 2030 and the space area of the Yellow River “Zigzag Bay” region were carried out. It indicates that the upcycling pathway further reduces environmental impacts with net benefits reaching more than 10% for some indicators (except for ozone depletion potential (ODP) and abiotic depletion potential (ADP) elements). This study not only provides a reference for future researchers on the recycling of waste glass in end-of-life PV panels but also provides theoretical support for the sustainable development of related fields.