Research theme 2
Treating Waste Gas and Liquid from Recycling
Theme leaders
Prof Rose Amal
(UNSW)
Prof Gregory Leslie
(UNSW)
Background
Recycling processes for solar panels can generate significant volumes of waste gases and liquids that, if untreated, pose environmental and health risks. Conventional treatment methods are often limited to containment or disposal, missing opportunities for resource recovery. To address this, RT2 develops technologies that not only neutralise harmful by-products but also convert them into valuable materials, ensuring that PV recycling is safe, sustainable, and fully circular.
Aims
Cleaner Off-Gas Treatment
Develop advanced technologies to capture and convert off-gases into useful chemicals and materials rather than releasing them as pollutants.
Smarter Waste Liquid Treatment
Design processes to treat waste liquids from recycling and transform them into value-added products for industrial reuse.
Outcomes
This theme will establish innovative methods for turning harmful waste streams into resources, reducing emissions and effluents from PV recycling. Outcomes include cleaner air through advanced off-gas treatment and sustainable water management through waste liquid valorisation. By closing these loops, RT2 enhances the environmental performance of recycling plants and contributes to a circular economy approach where all outputs—solid, liquid, and gas—are repurposed as valuable inputs for other industries.
RT 2.1. Cleaner Off-Gas Treatment
P14: Developing technologies to treat off-gases and convert them into useful materials instead of pollutants.
RT 2.2. Smarter Waste Liquid Treatment
P15: Treating waste liquids from recycling and transforming them into value-added products.