CdTe refining + photovoltaic manufacturing + recycling HSC model

This file contains an HSC model for cadmium and tellurium refining starting from by-products coming from a copper precious metals refinery, lead and zinc flowsheets, manufacturing of a CdTe photovoltaic module and its recycling process based on data found in literature. The model was used to perform a resource efficiency, including exergy, and environmental impact (LCA) evaluation of the life cycle of a CdTe photovoltaic module. This model was used in the Master’s thesis “Simulation-based assessment of resource efficiency and environmental impacts of a CdTe photovoltaic life cycle” by Magdalena Heibeck and for the publications “The simulation-based analysis of the circular economy – the enabling role of metallurgical infrastructure” published in the “Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy” journal on 08/11/2019 (https://doi.org/10.1080/25726641.2019.1685243) and “Simulation-based Exergy Analysis of Large Circular Economy Systems: Zinc Production Coupled to CdTe Photovoltaic Module Life Cycle” published in the “Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy” on 17/12/2019 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40831-019-00255-5).

Detailed information about the literature sources used for developing the model can be found in the references above.

The model can only be opened with HSC software and was made with HSC version 10.0.0.5 (https://www.outotec.com/HSC).