Recycling of CdTe photovoltaic waste

Patent number: 5997718

Abstract: A method for extracting and reclaiming metals from scrap CdTe photovoltaic cells and manufacturing waste by leaching the waste with a leaching solution comprising nitric acid and water, skimming any plastic material from the top of the leaching solution, separating the glass substrate from the liquid leachate and electrolyzing the leachate to separate Cd from Te, wherein the Te is deposits onto a cathode while the Cd remains in solution.

Type: Grant

Filed: June 16, 1998

Date of Patent: December 7, 1999

Assignee: Drinkard Metalox, Inc.

Inventors: Robert E. Goozner, Mark O. Long, William F. Drinkard, Jr.