3 research outputs found
A CIENTOMETRIA REVISITADA À LUZ DA EXPANSÃO DA CIÊNCIA, DA TECNOLOGIA E DA INOVAÇÃO
Analisa-se a presença dos estudos quantitativos junto à ciência. Descrevem-se os antecedentes históricos e conceitos referentes ao campo da cientometria. São abordadas as suas leis e os seus indicadores, mostrando a importância de cada um destes para a avaliação da ciência. Sugere-se a criação de novos indicadores à luz das necessidades atuais decorrentes da expansão da ciência, da tecnologia e da inovação e a busca de alternativas para melhorar o posicionamento e a visibilidade das produções brasileiras no contexto da atividade cientÃfica mundia
Towards a sustainable PV waste policy: Exploring the management practices of end-of-life solar photovoltaic modules in Australia
Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are effective measures to reduce the greenhouse gas
emissions. However, the large exploitation of solar PV modules, leads to undesirable waste
accumulation, affecting the environment. Solar PV waste management research is an emerging
field that has received more attention recently, affected by the increase volume of solar PV
disposals. However, only a few studies have examined the current practices in solar
photovoltaic waste management. In Australia, because of social and economic factors (such as
the replacement of small-scale PV systems come with new rebates), residential solar systems
are decommissioned earlier than expected before reaching their end-of-life (EoL). 70% of the
market share of PV systems are predominately dominated by the residential market in Australia
as of 2020. The average practical lifetime of PV modules instead of 20-30 years is 15-20 years
in Australia. Therefore, the volume of EoL PV from the residential sector entering the waste
stream in the coming decade will be higher than previously predicted.
This study aims to assess the environmental impacts of waste from rooftop solar photovoltaic
panels in Australia to inform sustainable policies. To achieve the aim of the research, the
following objectives are investigated: 1) exploring the current practices of managing end-oflife
rooftop solar photovoltaic panels in Australia; 2) developing an optimised system approach
in dealing with solar photovoltaic waste in Australia; and 3) assessing the environmental
impacts of end-of-life rooftop solar photovoltaic panels in Australia within the developed
assessment framework.
To achieve the research objectives, several methods are adopted to analyse the primary and
secondary data for this research. A modified Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) is adopted in
gathering data through interviews and questionnaires from experts in the field. The results show
that, crystalline silicon panels were the most common panels on the Australian market and the
ones that are being installed frequently. On policies, although the Australian government has
banned PV waste from going to landfill since 2014, there were no regulations or action plans
to manage PV waste. The absence of policies and regulations results in unregulated movement
and tracking of solar PV waste in and out of Australia as well as within and across the states.
The extent of the PV recovery and recycling warrants further investigation. Moreover,
infrastructure and logistics has been a significant problem because of the geographical spread
of the country and how it affects transportation and the supply chain. Findings led to the establishment of a conceptual framework for the current treatment of solar PV waste in
Australia.
Furthermore, a Weibull distribution model is employed to forecast the PV waste in the next
three decades in South Australia. The study further estimates the pollutant emission associated
with the collection and transportation of the waste for recycling and recovery. Results indicate
that, there will be 109,007 tons of PV waste generated in urban and suburban context in South
Australia by 2050. Among the three routing scenarios generated, the third scenario with
optimised transfer stations and an additional recycling facility showed more than 34%
reduction in pollutant emission.
This study evaluates the environmental impacts of three policy options for mono and multi
crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar panel waste modules. The impact of transport distance from
transfer stations to the recycling centre is also assessed. The life cycle assessment revealed that,
-1E+06 kgCO2eq and -2E+06 kgCO2eq are associated with the mandatory product stewardship
scenarios under global warming potential for mono and multi c-Si solar modules respectively.
However, the non-existence of a product stewardship will produce a global warming impact of
1E+05 kgCO2eq for both modules. The global warming effects revealed that, collecting and
recycling most of the multi c-Si panels were not effective (-365 kg CO2-eq, -698.4 kg CO2-eq,
-1032 kg CO2-eq) compared to keeping them away from the landfills and fully recycling (-
2E+06 kg CO2-eq) them. It was also highlighted that, the highest environmental impact
regarding the transport distances was the scenario of one recycling centre serving over 107
transfer stations with a global warming potential of 1E+06 kgCO2eq.
In conclusion, this study contributes to the management of the supply market of solar PV
technologies, using Australia as a case study. The recommendations derived from the
study include: creating collection centres for EoL PV modules in South Australia, developing
a logistic network to for the collection of EoL PV modules, creating and enhancing the
PV recycling market for recovered materials, issuing a regulatory landfill ban for EoL
solar PV module in South Australia, developing a mandatory product stewardship for PV
waste in Australia, promoting and providing financial incentives to current and future
infrastructure for PV recycling, minimising the exportation of PV waste overseas and
interstate, encouraging industry led research on new innovations to improve the recovery
of different PV technology families, developing sustainable measures to cut emissions for recycling through research and development in South Australia, and building the
capacity and promoting awareness on the benefits of PV recycling in South Australia.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, 202