The Value Emergence of Silicon Powder Recycled from Waste PV Panels-Information-Jiangxi MingxinAs the photovoltaic (PV) industry enters an intensive decommissioning period, the resource utilization of waste PV panels has become a key issue for green development. Among them, the silicon powder extracted through recycling is realizing the transformation from "industrial waste" to "resource treasure" with its diverse application scenarios. This purified silicon powder not only solves the environmental problem of waste PV panels but also demonstrates unique value in multiple fields.
In the closed loop of the PV industry chain, silicon powder achieves a virtuous cycle of "resource - product - recycled resource". Through the synergistic purification of physical and chemical methods, the purity of silicon powder can be increased to the solar-grade standard of over 99.999%, which can be reused to prepare N-type silicon ingots, adapting to the production of high-efficiency batteries such as TOPCon. Leading domestic enterprises have achieved a 15% blending ratio of recycled silicon powder in battery cells, with a conversion efficiency only 0.3 percentage points lower than that of primary silicon, but the cost is reduced by 20%, effectively reducing the industry's dependence on primary quartz ore.
In the energy storage field, silicon powder has become a key raw material for molten salt modification. After being prepared into silicon dioxide powder and compounded with Hitec XL molten salt, it can generate silicon-based composite molten salt with a melting point as low as 138℃, significantly expanding the operating temperature range of molten salt and avoiding pipeline freezing and blocking problems. When this modified molten salt is applied to the thermal power-molten salt energy storage coupling system, it can effectively improve the thermoelectric conversion efficiency, promote energy conservation and carbon reduction in thermal power, and reduce heating costs.
In the field of new energy materials, the high-value application of silicon powder is constantly breaking through. With the help of innovative technologies such as Joule heat shock, silicon powder can be converted into an amorphous silicon nanowire array, which is used as a lithium battery anode material. Its initial Coulombic efficiency reaches 91.35%, the capacity retention rate is still 95% after 200 cycles, and the volume expansion rate is controlled within 10%, which is significantly better than the traditional silicon anode. In addition, silicon powder can also be used as a raw material for semiconductor monocrystalline silicon and for the preparation of cutting blade materials for solar cells, further expanding the boundary of resource utilization.
The diverse applications of silicon powder recycled from waste PV panels not only tap the economic value of waste resources but also reduce carbon emissions and environmental pollution. Recycling one ton of waste silicon materials can save 11,000 kWh of electricity and reduce 12 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, injecting sustained impetus into the green transformation of the PV industry and providing a feasible path for global resource recycling.