By Martin Schottler, Environmental Engineer, M+W Germany GmbH; Mariska de Wild-Scholten, Member of the Research Staff, ECN Solar Energy; Susanne Rueß, Environmental Engineer, M+W Germany GmbH
This paper presents and discusses the merits of layout, systems and options for exhaust treatments in PV cell production. Such treatments usually comprise central acid scrubbing, NOx scrubbing, Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) removal and several local treatments for dust, silane, and VOCs, while caustic scrubbing is an option for monocrystalline PV cell production. As direct and indirect major emissions from typical production steps have already been identified [1], this article focuses on a full emission pattern and identifies two sectors, VOC and NOx treatment, as most important for environmental impact analysis.
