Analysis of a small recyclable wind turbine blade

Abstract

The wind energy industry is constantly seeking lower levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and also to improve its environmental and social sustainability. Thermoplastic resins are considered to be key to recycling wind turbine blades in the best possible way to reuse the main raw materials at the end of their life. In this work, a new thermoplastic liquid resin, AKELITE, patented by CSIC, is used to produce a new generation of 100% circular, sustainable wind turbine blades. The aim is to recover the two main components, the fibres and the resin, in optimal conditions to produce a new wind blade. First, the recycling protocol of composite laminates was optimised and the properties of the recycled composite were analysed. Interestingly, the first recycling process resulted in an improvement in the mechanical properties compared to the original laminate, which is ascribed to the presence of a thin layer of resin on the fibre surface that improves the adhesion between the layers. Thus, it is expected that the new blade will have a good performance, using almost 100% of recyclable materials. A 1.9 m recycled wind turbine blade is currently being manufactured to validate the results of this study. The successful development of such blades could have a significant impact on the sustainability of wind energy, providing a path towards circularity and reducing the environmental impact of wind turbine blades at the end of their life cycle.