Pyrolysis of solar panels
Pyrolysis attacks the one material mechanical separation cannot deal with: the encapsulant that bonds glass to cells. It is a sealed, indirectly heate
01
What the plant does
The reactor is heated indirectly with air excluded, so the encapsulant and backsheet decompose rather than burn. Vapour leaves the vessel, passes through a condenser and yields a condensable oil; the non-condensable gas is typically returned to the burner. The solid residue — glass, metals and char — is discharged, cooled and screened.
The screening stage is where the recovered value actually appears: metals come out as metals, and the fine fraction goes to controlled dust collection.
02
What is in the scope
- Reactor — batch vessels or continuous feed, indirectly heated
- Condenser and oil collection with level control
- Gas train, burner arrangement and flame-failure protection
- Discharge, cooling and conveying of the hot solid residue
- Screening and separation of the cooled residue
- Extraction and dust control at every transfer point
- Instrumentation for temperature, pressure and combustible gas
03
The equipment
04
How it is configured
| Decision | Driven by | Consequence |
|---|---|---|
| Batch or continuous | Volume and feed consistency | Batch tolerates variation and lower volume; continuous rewards steady feed and reduces labour |
| Reactor size | Target throughput and cycle time | Set from your tonnage, not from a standard size class |
| Condenser and oil handling | Whether the oil has a use or must be managed | Changes the recovery train and the storage arrangement |
| Gas route | Whether gas is returned to the burner or flared | Determines the safety case and the instrumentation |
| Residue screening | What you intend to sell from the solids | Decides how many separation steps follow the reactor |
| Abatement scope | The permit conditions in your jurisdiction | Usually the largest non-reactor item in the budget |
Specification — reactor size, cycle time, gas and oil handling, abatement scope — is confirmed against your feedstock and your permit at quotation stage rather than published as a fixed table.
Feedstock and permit first
Tell us what your dismantling line produces and what the regulator requires of a thermal process on your site. Those two answers configure this plant.
FAQ
Questions
What feedstock does the pyrolysis plant take?
Dismantled module material with the frame and junction box already removed, at a controlled particle size and moisture. Feeding whole framed modules wastes the aluminium and loads the process with material it was not designed for.
What comes out of it?
Three streams: a combustible gas, a condensable oil and a solid residue of glass, metals and carbon char. The solids are screened and separated after cooling, and that is where the metal value is recovered.
Why is the abatement scope such a large part of the budget?
Because a thermal process produces a continuous off-gas that has to be extracted, treated and monitored, and because combustible gas on site requires a safety case and instrumentation. In most jurisdictions those, not the reactor, are what the permit is written around.
Can I add pyrolysis to an existing dismantling line?
Yes, and that is the usual sequence — provided the existing line produces a consistent, weighed feed with the frame and box removed. If it does not, the front end needs attention before a thermal stage is worth buying.
Send us the module mix and the through-put
Tell us what arrives at your gate and what has to leave. The engineering team replies with the station configuration, the scope boundary and the information still missing before drawings start.
- Modules — framed single-glass, double-glass, frameless, thin film, mixed
- Condition — intact, or a meaningful share damaged or bent
- Through-put — modules per hour or t/h, and your shift pattern
- Output — which fractions you sell or store, and to what specification
Prefer to talk first? WhatsApp +86 182 0399 3035 or email [email protected].