Toluene soaked photovoltaic panels

Can toluene solvent be reused?

No significant pollution was observed as the used toluene solvent was also recovered and purified for further reuse. The properties of the recovered polymeric layers are comparable to the reference materials, and the same can be reused in the fabrication of new solar modules and possibly for other applications as well.

Which solvent is used to recover materials from waste solar modules?

Conclusion Following the general chemistry rule “like dissolves like” toluene is chosen as a solvent for the efficient recovery of materials from waste solar modules. The polymeric layers along with other materials including glass, Cu tapes, solar cells, etc. have been efficiently recovered using single solvent toluene.

Can distilled toluene be reused?

The recovered polymeric layers may be reused in solar panels or in the polymer industry. Also, ∼ 97 % of toluene was recovered and the same was purified by distillation process and observed that distilled toluene has equivalent UV–visible absorption bands to fresh toluene.

How to check the purity of distilled toluene?

To check the purity of distilled toluene, three samples were defined as S 1, S 2, S 3 (S 1 -Fresh toluene, S 2 -distilled toluene, and S 3 - toluene recovered via rota vap) studied through UV–Visible spectroscopy in the range 200–800 nm. It has been observed in Fig. 13 that distilled toluene has similar spectra as that of fresh toluene.

Does distilled toluene have a similar absorption spectra?

It has been observed in Fig. 13 that distilled toluene has similar spectra as that of fresh toluene. Two absorption bands were observed in the near UV region from 200 to 300 nm due to polyunsaturated and aromatic compounds involving π-π* transitions.