Recovery of Silicon from Kerf Loss Slurry Waste for Photovoltaic Applications
Resource
PROGRESS IN PHOTOVOLTAICS,17(3),155-163.
Journal
Progress in Photovoltaics Research and Applications
Pages
155-163
Date Issued
2009-05
Date
2009-05
Author(s)
Wang, TY
Lin, YC
Tai, CY
Fei, CC
Tseng, MY
Lan, CW
Abstract
The constantly rising price of silicon feedstock has been the most important factor preventing photovoltaic (PV) energy from reaching grid parity. On the other hand, large amount of silicon gets wasted during slicing. We report a promising approach to recycle kerf loss silicon from cutting slurry waste for solar cell applications. Silicon carbide (SiC) and metal impurities were successfully removed by chemical/physical processing from the slurry waste to recover solar grade silicon. The effects of centrifugation using heavy fluids and high-temperature treatment in the removal of SiC particles are discussed in detail. Ingots from the recycled silicon were grown by using directional solidification. The average resistivity and minority carrier lifetime of the grown crystals were found to be about 0.7 Ω cm and 1 02 μs, respectively, which were close to the original sawing silicon ingots. Solar cells using multi-crystalline wafers of recovered silicon were fabricated and the best energy conversion efficiency was found to be 12.6% comparable to those from the high-purity silicon. © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
SDGs
Other Subjects
Directional solidification; Grown crystals; High-purity silicon; High-temperature treatment; Metal impurities; Minority carrier lifetimes; Photovoltaic applications; SiC particles; Silicon feedstocks; Silicon ingot; Solar grade silicons; Solar-cell applications; Carrier lifetime; Centrifugation; Conversion efficiency; Crystal impurities; Crystallization; Energy conversion; Ingots; Metal recovery; Photovoltaic cells; Recycling; Semiconducting silicon compounds; Silicon carbide; Solar cells; Solar energy; Solidification; Silicon wafers
Type
journal article