A framework of photovoltaics recycling facility location optimization

Economic performance is the primary factor that restricts the development of photovoltaics recycling industry. A generic framework was developed to optimize the economic performance of photovoltaics recycling. In the framework, the overall recycling cost was optimized from the perspective of the capital cost, the operation cost, and the transportation cost. In order to perform the optimization, a mathematical model was developed to identify the geographic locations of photovoltaics recycling facilities. A case study was included for demonstrating the effectiveness of the framework. As a result, the optimal number of the recycling facilities as well as their locations were determined. In addition, the cost of the optimal recycling scenario was identified. (C) 2020 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.