• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.77-84
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• 2023

As the installation of solar panel accelerates, so does the number of solar panels reaching their end-of-life (EOL). However, the EOL solar panels is becoming a concern, as they contain potentially hazardous materials and are not easily recycled. Coping strategies such as effective collection, disposal, and recycling methods will be important to manage the growing number of EOL solar panels in the coming years.Therefore, many studies have focused on the development of EOL solar panel recycling technology. One recycling technology for EOL solar panels applicable to the construction field is the application of extracted tempered glass from EOL solar panels as construction materials. This study summarized the EOL solar panel disassembly technology and evaluated the mechanical properties of mortar using extracted tempered glass as fine aggregate. The results showed that when tempered glass was used as a fine aggregate in mortar, the compressive strength, flexural strength, and macro pores in the 1-3 ㎛ with 200-300 ㎛ range were affected, regardless of the disassembly technology of EOL solar panels. Especially, we found that the mechanical performance of mortar using chemically treated tempered glass was noticeably decreased due to changes in the chemical composition of the extracted tempered glass resulting from the removal of K₂O and CuO due to chemical reactions. Meanwhile, it was found that when fly ash was used as a binder, the reduction of mechanical performance could be alleviated.