In an unprecedented move, the production of the first prototype 100% recyclable wind turbine blade, which measures 62 meters, or 203 feet in size, was just unveiled to the public. It was created using Arkema’s Elium resin, which is a thermoplastic resin that is popular for its well-known recyclable properties.
Back in September of 2020, the Zero wastE Blade ReseArch project, otherwise known as ZEBRA, was created in partnership with French research center IRT Jules Verne, which brought together other industrial companies such as LM Wind Power, Arkema, CANOE, Owens Corning, Engie, and SUEZ.
The main purpose was to demonstrate the ‘technical, economic, and environmental relevance of thermoplastic wind turbine blades on a full scale, with an eco-design approach to facilitate recycling.’
In addition, one project partner, LM Wind Power, even designed and built what’s considered the world’s biggest thermoplastic blade in Spain, at its Ponferrada plant. This particular milestone was achieved after an entire year was put into the development and testing of the material, backing up by sub-component level process trials done by the other partner conglomerates.
In the process of creating the blades, the liquid thermoplastic resin is ‘perfectly adapted for the manufacturing of large part by resin infusion which are combined with Owens Corning-high performance fabrics. The result happens to be a composite material that has delivered very similar performances to thermoset resins, except it has one major vital benefit, the fact that its recyclable.
These elium-based composite components can apparently be recycled by using an advanced method called chemical recycling which allows the resin to fully depolymerize, then separate the fiber from the resin, after which it can recover a new virgin resin and high Modulus Glass, which is ready to reused, bringing it full circle.
Developed by their other partner companies, Arkema and CANOE, this method has been tested on all the composite parts, even the waste generated from the material’s production. The Owens Corning company is also in charge of finding the solution to fiberglass recycling, all through remelting or reusing it in a number of different applications.
Moreover, aside from material testing and process trials, the companies have managed to make progress in the development and optimization of the manufacturing process by using automation, which reduces energy consumption as well as waste during the production process.
To further verify the performance of the composite material to be used in making the blades, as well as attempting to prove its feasibility for future sustainable blade production, LM Wind Power will also being their full-scale structural lifetime testing at its Test and Validation Centre in Denmark. As soon as the test are done, the ‘end-of-life’ recycling methods will then be validated as well.
As for the next steps for the recycling of production waste, they will dismantle and recycle the first blade, then analyze the test results. They are also hopeful that by the end of the project, which is set for 2023, the group of companies working on the project will have met the challenge of ‘bringing the wind energy sector into the circular economic loop in a sustainable manner,’ as deemed necessary when it comes to the principles of eco-design.
Project Manager at IRT Jules Verne, Céline Largeau, said, “The manufacture of this first blade is a great success for the entire consortium and for the wind industry in general.”
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