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Güneş Panelleri Yakın Çekim

PV Recycling for A Circular Economy

Research

PVREfaCE started its scientific research with the project “Recycling of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Panels via Life Cycle Analysis” supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye in the second term of 2021, within the scope of the "1001- The Scientific and Technological Research Projects Funding Program".

PVREfaCE is the first project team established in Turkey to research the recycling of photovoltaic modules. The project is carried out in cooperation with expert academics working at Ege University Solar Energy Institute, İzmir Institute of Technology, and İzmir Democracy University. The project also has a dynamic and young working environment with undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students.

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Researchers

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Prof. Dr. Melih Soner Çeliktaş 

Project Coordinator​

Ege University Solar Energy Institute​​

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Assist. Prof. Dr. Burak Gültekin

Project Team Member​

Ege University Solar Energy Institute

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Prof. Dr. Ceylan Zafer

Project Team Member​

Ege University Solar Energy Institute​

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Res. Assist. Dr. Hüseyin Sarıaltın

Project Team Member

İzmir Institute of Technology 

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Prof. Dr. Tuğba Keskin Gündoğdu

Project Team Member

İzmir Democracy University 

Grants

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Aslı Birtürk

PhD Candidate

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Yağmur Karakuş

Tübitak Star

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Sadık Can Karagöz

Master Student​​​​​​

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Kader Angi

Tübitak Star

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Betül Aksoy

Star - Master Student

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Muammer Bali

Tübitak Star

Objective

Photovoltaic (PV) modules, which are increasing rapidly every year, are becoming a common waste problem in the world, as they have an average lifespan of 25-30 years. Although PV modules are an important renewable energy source in electrical energy production for the green transition, the issue of what happens to the valuable minerals and toxic components in the content of PV modules at the end of their life is an important research issue that needs to be resolved within the scope of sustainability. Against this rapidly growing waste problem, the PVREfaCE team aims to provide eco-friendly, energy-efficient, economic, and most importantly sustainable contributions for future generations.

Solvent-free ultrasonic approach for delamination of end-of-life crystalline-silicon PV modules

Sustainable Materials and Technologies. Volume 48, 15 July 2026 Aslı Birtürk, Melih Soner Celiktas ABSTRACT Ultrasonic cavitation is widely used for cleaning and surface modifications. However, solvent-free ultrasonic applications to delaminate EVA from photovoltaic (PV) stacks and its environmental perspective remain limited in the literature. Ultrasonic delamination enabled the complete delamination of glass and front EVA and partially the release of c-Si fragments from the back EVA layer. The process achieved a delamination success rate of 82.2% by mass, suggesting that the separation mechanism of front encapsulant layer (EVA) under the applied conditions is mechanical interfacial weakening rather than bulk chemical degradation. Mechanical analysis supports that EVA exhibited the highest deformation (1.6 mm), while glass (0.57 μm) and c-Si (0.0267 μm) remained relatively unaffected due to its lower elastic modulus. These results align with previous studies on cavitation-induced surface modifications in various materials at ultrasonic frequencies. The study further highlights the life cycle assessment (LCA) of ultrasonic cavitation delamination with net CO₂ emission savings of −5.75E+00 kg CO₂ eq., the environmental impact of the lab-scale processes. The findings establish the potential of ultrasonic cavitation as a solvent-free approach for PV recycling and critical mineral sustainability.

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