- Title
- Sustainability in organic photovoltaic development
- Creator
- Thompson, Kristofer Lindsey
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2024
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- With global energy demand affecting the earths’ climate, secure renewable sources are developing rapidly. Organic photovoltaics (OPV) are one developing source of solar energy production. With the major component of Roll-to-Roll (R2R) printed OPV being Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) future end of life scenarios need to be considered. PET is already an environmental issue, and an increase in potential pollution needs to be anticipated. Similar to silicon photovoltaics (SiPV), there is no well-established methodology for reclaiming or recycling OPV. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) is used to examine possible impacts of a products life cycle on the environment. In the development of organic photovoltaics (OPV), life cycle analysis (LCA) is a key tool in determining the environmental impacts of the technology. Currently there are no specific guidelines for undertaking life cycle analysis of organic photovoltaic devices, and this had led to many omissions and variances within the results. In order to make OPV a truly environmentally friendly renewable energy option solving the problem of waste is extremely important. With little research into how to recycle OPV and recover the materials used a gap has been highlighted. From small to large scale a recycling system was established. This system involved chemical and mechanical methods of stripping printed layers from the substrate so that it can be recycled along with other PET products. The result showed that large amounts of the materials used in the manufacture of OPV can be recycled. The PET substrate can be cleaned to below 5% contamination and recycled alongside other used PET products. The printed layers can be separated into mentals and polymers, and over time quantities of material can be collected until worthwhile recycling quantities are achieved. Alongside a new recycling procedure an LCA was undertaken using all of the methodology guidelines and standards available at the time. Although lacking any specific OPV details the methodology guidelines for SiPV were applied to OPV showing that robust LCA can be undertaken of the technology.
- Subject
- organic photovoltaics; solar energy production; renewable energy; silicon photovoltaics; life cycle analysis
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1508908
- Identifier
- uon:56164
- Rights
- Copyright 2024 Kristofer Lindsey Thompson
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 5 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 470 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |