Resources for specifying and running a PV dismantling line
These are the questions that come up in almost every enquiry, written out in enough detail to be useful before you talk to anyone. No lead capture gat
01
Module parts
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Laminate | The bonded layer stack of glass, encapsulant, cells and backsheet or rear glass — the part of the module that remains after the frame is removed. |
| Frame | The aluminium profile around the laminate. Typically 10–15% of module mass and the highest-value single component in a conventional module. |
| Encapsulant | The polymer layer — usually EVA or POE — that bonds the glass to the cells. Its bond strength is what makes the laminate difficult to separate. |
| Backsheet | The rear polymer sheet on a single-glass module, replaced by a second pane of glass on a double-glass module. |
| Junction box | The housing on the rear containing the module's electrical connections and the cable. Carries copper and solder-bearing parts. |
| Interconnect ribbon | The thin metal strip connecting adjacent cells inside the laminate, carrying copper and often tin and silver. |
02
Process terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Deframing / frame removal | Removing the aluminium frame from a module. The two terms are used interchangeably; manufacturers differ on which they prefer. |
| Delamination | Separating the glass from the rest of the laminate. In mechanical dismantling it is achieved without chemistry; in other routes it may use heat or solvents. |
| Glass separation | The station or step that releases the front — or front and rear — glass from the laminate and collects it. |
| Cullet | Broken glass prepared for remelting or for a secondary application. Quality is judged largely by how little laminate and metal it carries. |
| Fines | The small fragments and dust generated by handling and reduction. Their composition differs from the main glass stream and they need their own route. |
| Size reduction | Reducing delaminated material to a handling size before separation. Sometimes called shredding, granulating or crushing depending on the equipment. |
| Mass balance | The record of material entering and leaving the plant, per stream. Required by most permits and by most quality schemes. |
03
Feedstock terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Single-glass | A module with one glass pane at the front and a polymer backsheet at the rear. The conventional design. |
| Double-glass / glass-glass | A module with glass on both faces. Heavier, more evenly balanced and more fragile at the laminate edge. |
| Frameless | A module without an aluminium frame, common among thin-film and some glass-glass designs. The deframing step does not apply. |
| Thin film | Modules using a thin semiconductor coating on a glass substrate rather than silicon cells — including CdTe, CIGS and a-Si. |
| Off-spec / scrap modules | Modules rejected during manufacture, either before or after lamination, plus returns and warranty replacements. |
| Repowering | Replacing modules at an existing solar site with higher-output ones while retaining the land and grid connection, producing the whole site's modules as a single campaign. |
04
Compliance terms
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| WEEE | Waste electrical and electronic equipment. In the EU this is the framework that covers photovoltaic modules, currently Directive 2012/19/EU. |
| WEEELABEX | A voluntary treatment standard with a certification scheme for waste electrical and electronic equipment, covering collection, logistics and treatment. |
| EN 50625 series | European standards setting treatment requirements for WEEE, with parts addressing particular waste streams including photovoltaic panels. |
| EPR / extended producer responsibility | A framework in which producers finance the collection and treatment of the products they place on the market. |
| Universal waste | A category used in some United States jurisdictions for certain widely generated wastes, with simplified handling requirements compared with full hazardous waste rules. |
| Authorised treatment facility | A facility permitted by the competent authority in its jurisdiction to treat a given waste stream. |
A term we should add?
If a supplier used a word you could not find here, send it. Ambiguous vocabulary is one of the more common causes of a specification going wrong.
FAQ
Questions
Is deframing the same as delamination?
No. Deframing is removing the aluminium frame from the outside of the module. Delamination is separating the glass from the rest of the laminate. They are consecutive steps, and the terms are sometimes used loosely enough to cause confusion in a specification.
What is the difference between glass separation and delamination?
Delamination is the physical act of parting the glass from the laminate; glass separation is the process step that does it and collects the result. In our line description we use glass separation for the station and delamination for the physical result.
What does cullet mean?
Cullet is broken glass prepared for remelting or for a secondary application. In module recycling it is the output of the glass separation step, and its value depends mainly on how little encapsulant and metal it carries.
Send us the module mix and the through-put
Tell us what arrives at your gate and what has to leave. The engineering team replies with the station configuration, the scope boundary and the information still missing before drawings start.
- Modules — framed single-glass, double-glass, frameless, thin film, mixed
- Condition — intact, or a meaningful share damaged or bent
- Through-put — modules per hour or t/h, and your shift pattern
- Output — which fractions you sell or store, and to what specification
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