Photovoltaic panels (PV) are one of the most popular technological solutions used to produce green renewable energy. They are known as green technology, but by analyzing a life cycle of a common panel, we can find out that production of these panels is strictly associated with generation of a large waste stream. PV modules are constantly modified and, therefore, it is required to consider the impact of the applied materials on the environment during the whole lifecycle of the product. The most important aspect of the assessment of a life cycle of a photovoltaic module in the phase of decommissioning is material recycling. The process of material recycling is very difficult, due to the lamination used in the currently exploited technology. This paper presents the results of pyrolysis for a sample of a silicon module. The results of the presented research show a weight loss of 48.16 in case of the tested samples. This paper presents the outcome of a quantitative analysis of the content of polycyclic aromatic for liquid and concentrations of Br, Cl and F for a gaseous fraction of pyrolysis products. The goal of the research presented in the paper was to find the optimal parameters for thermal separation, as well as the influence of the energy consumption and materials separation efficiency on the final thermal efficiency of the process.

The electronic components mounted on the printed circuit boards (PCBs) of mobile phones represent a resource that is rich in metals, and after separation from the boards, these components could be considered secondary raw materials. The concentrations of the valuable metals are insignificant when compared with those of complete PCBs; however, they could be significantly higher in a fraction formed from the separated components. This study focused on the analysis of Ag, Au, Cu, Nd, Nb, Ni, Pb, Pd, Sn, and Ta in fractions produced by the separation of all the components mounted on PCBs from several types of mobile phones. Atomic absorption spectrometry, atomic emission spectrometry, and mass spectrometry techniques were utilized, and a comparison of five older models of “brick” phones and five modern smartphones was conducted. Additionally, 50 kg of PCBs from the current recycling market were analyzed in the same way to create a summary of the current recycling stream.