Environmental and Economic Performance of Recycling End-of-Life Glass–Backsheet and Glass–Glass Photovoltaic Modules in China

The rapid expansion of China’s photovoltaic (PV)
industry
is generating a surge of end-of-life (EOL) PV modules, raising serious
waste management concerns. However, substantial uncertainties persist
in evaluating recycling processes, shifting corporate strategies,
and devising regional policies under the “zero-waste cities”
framework, which impedes the establishment of an efficient recycling
system. Herein, life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing
(LCC) are employed to comprehensively evaluate environmental and economic
performance of eight glass–backsheet and two glass–glass
EOL PV module recycling processes. Subsequently, considering provincial
operational scales and technological distributions, multiple composite
strategies encompassing economic subsidies, reduced transport distances,
and process upgrades are developed to explore the sustainability of
recycling pathways. Results reveal significant regional disparities
in EOL PV module mass, while recycling capacity considerably exceeds
generation mass, with low utilization rates. Aluminum recovery delivers
marked environmental benefits, while swelling delamination pretreatment
enhances environmental performance. EOL module purchase cost and aluminum
alloys market price are key profitability factors. Implementing the
optimal solution could increase carbon emission reduction by 4.5%,
net abiotic resource savings by 47.5% and net profit by 56% over the
baseline. These findings provide instrumental insights for policymakers
and industry to advance PV recycling and foster a circular economy.