Ricerc@Sapienza

An Fe-rich fluor-elbaite was thermally treated in air and hydrogen atmosphere up to 800 °C to study potential changes in Fe- and Al-ordering over the octahedrally coordinated Y and Z sites. Overall, the experimental data (structural refinement, electron and ion microprobe, Mössbauer, infrared and optical absorption spectroscopy) show that thermal treatment of fluor-elbaite results in an increase of Fe contents at the Z site balanced by an increase of Al at the Y site.

End of life photovoltaic panels of different technologies (poly crystalline Si, amorphous Si, and CdTe) were treated mechanically in pilot scale by single shaft shredder minimizing the production of fine fractions below 0.4 mm (<18% weight). Grounded material was sieved giving: an intermediate fraction (0.4–1 mm) of directly recoverable glass (18% weight); a coarse fraction (which should be further treated for encapsulant removal), and fine fractions of low-value glass (18%), which can be treated by leaching for the removal of metal impurities.