Technical, economic and environmental potential of recycled polycarbonate solar photovoltaic frames

Solar photovoltaic (PV) devices have excellent ecological footprints, but a substantial amount of embodied energy is due to their standard aluminum frames. Recycled polycarbonate (PC) has a high strength-to-weight ratio and superior resistance to corrosion, which makes it an attractive substitute for aluminum in the construction of PV module frames. This study investigates the feasibility of using virgin and recycled PC for PV module frames by 1) conducting finite element analysis to optimize dimensional designs of PC frames, ensuring sufficient structural strength and minimizing potential deformation while minimizing the weight; 2) performing materials economic analysis on that PC frames to compare them to Al and 3) a basic life cycle analysis to compare the environmental performance of the two frame materials. Two frame profiles are evaluated: downward fastened and C-shaped. Results show the use of lower-mass PC frames could enable installations that might otherwise be unfeasible due to necessary roof structural reinforcement. PC downward fastened frames are also less expensive than aluminum frames. The environmental impact results show recycled Al and recycled PC significantly outperform primary aluminum. Recycled polycarbonate, provides the most substantial reductions in both cumulative energy demand and carbon footprint, with nearly complete elimination of carbon emissions.