Recycling and reusing old fiberglass wind turbines will soon be possible

An innovative technological process comes from Scotland to recycle and reuse old wind turbines and "save" them from landfill.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

It is not at all easy to recycle and reuse old wind turbines, whose only destiny, today, is only the landfill. The fact that they are made of a composite material - glass fiber and reinforcing elements to ensure lightness and high resistance to the elements that compose them - it makes a lot the process of separating and recovering the individual materials is complicated. A possible solution to the problem comes from Scotland, thanks to the fruitful collaboration between a Glasgow university and the wind sector.

When you need to get rid of wind turbines, the first operational difficulties are usually found at the plant site. When a wind farm reaches its end of life, it must necessarily be dismantled or renovated (revamping process); the long elements that make up the wind turbine, however, are not easily removable and transportable. In fact, they have to be broken into smaller parts with huge industrial diamond saws before moving them to storage sites indefinitely.

Research perspectives

The wind industry has long been trying to come up with more effective disposal solutions for old wind turbines in order to modify the materials used to build them, but there is still a long way to go.

In this context, the solution recently proposed as part of the project launched by the Norwegian offshore wind developer Aker Offshore Wind, the investment agency Aker Horizons and the University of Strathclyde, based in Glasgow, Scotland, has aroused particular interest. .

A previous study of the same Strathclyde University had highlighted the drastic increase of this type of waste globally. Researchers have estimated that the old blades are expected to reach 400.000 tons per year in 2030 and a whopping two million tons by 2050.

By signing a memorandum of understanding, the three actors involved intend to promote the development of recovery processes for glass fiber products used in the construction of wind turbines. The ultimate goal of the ambitious project is to be able to recycle the old wind turbines.

In accordance with the aforementioned memorandum, the parties undertake to optimize and commercialize an extremely innovative process, developed in the laboratory by the Strathclyde researchers, to enable heat recovery and post-treatment from waste glass-reinforced polymer composites. According to experts, the quality of the glass fibers thus obtained would be almost comparable to the original one.

Technological innovation at the service of industry

The intent of Aker Horizons and Aker Offshore Wind is to contribute with high-level funding and expertise to the application of these new technologies in an industrial context in line with adequate safety and sustainability standards.

In summary, the process developed by the Scottish University's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering will be able to transform composite waste into reusable fiber. If implemented globally, it could meet 50% of global fiberglass demand.

In a press release published on April 22 on the Scottish university's institutional website, it is also explained that:

"Since the process allows for the production of medium to high value fibers, it is possible to cover a wide spectrum of the market, ranging from less efficient to high performance products."

In addition to being of obvious strategic importance to the wind industry, the recycled material could be used in other sectors, such as automobile and ship manufacturing, oil and gas production, construction and sporting goods. This is no small advantage, given that recycling and reuse are and will be increasingly indispensable for expanding the circular economy.

Fonti: Strathclyde University