Recycling of discarded photovoltaic panels for the fabrication of laminated polymer composites for lightweight structural applications

The rapid growth in non-conventional energy resources leads to the development of Solar PV panels for harvesting solar energy. The disposal mechanism of PV panels passes through an initial phase when focusing on the waste to wealth concept. This work illustrates the recycling of photovoltaic panel glass powder as a microfiller material in glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites. The modified polymer composites were developed at varying weight percentages of filler/reinforcing materials. The Glass Fiber and ball-milled waste PV glass were used as reinforcements in the thermoset epoxy matrix. The composites were prepared using the conventional and cost-effective route of the hand layup method (HLM) at five varying weight percentages, such as 0%,3%,6%,9%, and 12%. The Tensile, Flexural, and Impact tests revealed that the addition of waste glass powder shows a significant improvement in mechanical performance at 6 wt.%. Tensile strength and tensile modulus increase by up to 43.53% and 21.47%, respectively, while Flexural strength and Flexural modulus increase by 37.48% and 39.64%, respectively, at 6 wt.%, compared to the pristine sample. Impact strength also shows the greatest improvement, 26.89% relative to the 0 wt.% laminate sample. Further FTIR and TGA analysis show that these composites could be utilised in flooring materials, lightweight automotive body parts, window panels, and road barriers. This work can be endorsed for solid waste recycling purposes in solar PV industries.