Treatment and Valorization of Waste Wind Turbines: Component Identification and Analysis

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Engineering
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• End-of-life wind turbines generate substantial composite waste, primarily from blades.
• Traditional recycling methods struggle with the complex material composition of turbine blades (glass/carbon fibers in polymer matrices).
• Efficient and environmentally sound processing methods are crucial for managing this growing waste stream.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate innovative methods for analyzing and valorizing wind turbine blade composite waste.
• To investigate mechanical waste treatment and material fractionation for high-value component recovery.
• To characterize the physicochemical properties of separated materials.

Main Methods:

• Mechanical treatment using novel compression milling to reduce tool wear.
• Distinguishing and analyzing 15 distinct waste samples (WT1-WT15) based on visual characteristics.
• Utilizing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) for material characterization.
• Implementing wet and dry fractionation methods for component separation.

Main Results:

• FTIR confirmed the presence of PET, PE, PP, epoxy/polyester resins, wood, and glass fibers.
• TGA and DSC provided insights into thermal stability, degradation, and heterogeneity of the composite materials.
• Wet fractionation yielded distinct fractions, with the GF1 (< 40 µm) fraction showing 89.7% residual mass, indicating high glass fiber content.
• The novel processing approach demonstrated effectiveness in recovering valuable materials.

Conclusions:

• The integrated processing and analysis techniques are effective for wind turbine blade waste valorization.
• Compression milling offers a wear-reducing alternative to traditional knife mills.
• Efficient separation methods, particularly wet fractionation, enable high-value material recovery, such as glass fibers.