Table 1.

Summary of experimental work on metal recovery from recycled thin-film solar modules.

Literature	Type of PV Module	Process	Scale
[4]	CdTe, CIGS (damaged modules, production waste)	Grinding in a hammer mill Abrasion and sieving < 150 µm Flotation Purifying	General
[4]	CdTe, CIGS (whole modules)	Thermal delamination Vacuum dedusting Flotation Purifying	General
[7]	CdTe	HNO3 leaching DC electrolysis Solution decomposition	Academic research
[7]	CIGS	HNO3 leaching EVA hydrolysis and flotation DC electrolysis Oxidation and distillation of the Cu/Se mixture Solution decomposition	Academic research
[8]	CIGS	Thermal treatment and removal of the glass layer Removal of residual EVA in acetic acid Mechanical cutting of the absorber layer Washing residuals with dilute nitric acid from the glass surface	Academic research
[9]	CdTe	Grinding the module Leaching with a mixture of acid and perhydrol Precipitation of Cd and Te Treatment of enriched sludge after the process Recycling of cleaned glass	Pilot studies
[10]	CdTe	Leaching with HNO3 Addition of Ca to precipitate Cd and Te Calcination of the sludge at temperatures below 500 °C Washing with water and drying Calcination to obtain CaO	Pilot studies
[11]	CIS (semiconductor coated glass, production waste)	Grinding Dissolving in oxidizing acid Filtration and separation of the precipitate Liquid–liquid extraction (separation of In from Ga/Se mixture) Purification	Pilot studies
[12]	CdTe	Mechanical disintegration Pyrolysis at temperatures above 400 °C in oxygen Exposure to a mixture of Cl2 and N2 at 400 °C Cooling and sequential precipitation of CdCl2 and TeCl4	Academic research
[13]	CdTe	Crushing Washing with H2SO4+H2O2 Columns with a chelating agent (Cu) Cation exchange column (Cd and Fe) Electrochemical process (Cd) Precipitated with sodium carbonate (Te)	Academic research