Environmental Sustainability of Different Recycling Approaches for Perovskite Solar Cells

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a promising alternative in next-generation photovoltaic technologies. However, their sustainable end-of-life management remains a critical challenge. In this study, we conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) to compare the environmental impacts of innovative recycling methods recently developed for managing PSC waste. Our primary focus was on the recycling phase of PSCs. To provide scalable information for mass production, we selected a functional unit of 1m2 of PSC for our LCA. After a rigorous literature review, we identified five recently developed approaches suitable for large-scale manufacturing. These approaches were further analyzed from an environmental sustainability perspective. For the LCA analyses, we employed the TRACI method (Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemicals and Other Environmental Impacts). Our analysis revealed that a recycling method based on potassium iodide solution outperforms others by reducing environmental impacts across nine TRACI categories. This method demonstrates minimal impact, largely due to the low environmental burden associated with steam heat during iodine integration. &lt;div&gt;In contrast, recycling processes utilizing chemicals like chlorobenzene (CB), dimethylformamide (DMF), and ethyl acetate exhibit significantly higher environmental footprints. In addition, we analyzed five methods in terms of PSC component recovery, including coated glass, absorber, hole transport layer, and back contact. We compared these methods with the environmental impacts of producing the raw materials for these layers. Our analyses concluded that the recovery of coated glass and back contact materials exhibits better environmental performance compared to the production of raw materials. Furthermore, the environmental impacts of recovering these materials can be further reduced by reusing the solvent based on their solubility product values. Our findings offer critical insights into the feasibility of scaling up environmentally benign recycling processes, laying the groundwork for the sustainable industrialization of PSC technologies.<br/>&lt;/div&gt;