The fundamental studies on the reaction kinetics of thermal decomposition of bio-composite based backsheet materials in photovoltaic (PV) panel

This research presents the reaction kinetics of thermal decomposition of vetiver filled Polylactic Acid (PLA) bio-composite based backsheet in Photovoltaic (PV) panel via the Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The conventional PV backsheet called TEDLAR (Polyvinyl Fluoride, PVF) is made from petroleum, a non-biodegradable material which will impose serious problems to the environment at the end-of-life of the PV modules. Therefore, it is important to identify the suitability of PLA/vetiver to replace TEDLAR. The best composition of PLA/vetiver producing the lowest thermal degradation is discussed by analysing the activation energy of the bio-composites with different weight percent (wt. %) of PLA/vetiver. The result showed the wt. % of PLA/vetiver with lower content of the natural fibre has a lower thermal degradation temperature which indicates the rapid start of the degradation process. However, TEDLAR degrades at an average temperature of 400°C proving the ability to withstand extreme temperatures, thus it does not degrade easily. The results showed the higher the content of the vetiver, the lower the degradation temperature. The activation energy of the bio-composites was calculated using the Kissinger method and the estimation values of the different doses of PLA/vetiver range between 28 to 77 kJ/mol.