Large sample activation analysis: Monitoring of photovoltaic module recycling using radioanalytical methods

Photovoltaic modules are the most promising sources of renewable energy. According to respective EU Directives both the glass carrier material and the photo-active layer (CdTe in this study) shall be re-used. Analyses for process surveillance and control have to be carried out, primarily for monitoring of the separation efficiency and the enrichment level of CdTe. For on-site measurement and process control energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was used. Instrumental photon activation analysis using an electron linear accelerator as activating bremsstrahlung source is intended to be used later for iterative intermediate analysis of random samples for quality control. In this work, the feasibility of both methods for this task was studied.