As much as wind turbines are great for producing clean energy, disposing of them when the time comes can be challenging. Researchers in Chin
A team from the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences devised a method of crushing and chemically treating old turbine blades so that they could be mixed into materials used in road construction.
This material was already trialed and has been in place on a section of Qingfu Highway in northwest China for over five months. So far, there have been no reports of cracking or rutting in this hybrid material, and it appears to be "long-lasting."
While most parts from old wind turbines can be recycled or reused, including the shell, nacelle, and metallic internal components, the long blades are typically made from fiberglass. That's especially true of blades that are reaching the end of their lifespan now, after having been in use for the last couple of decades.
This breakthrough joins a short list of applications – compiled by Chemical & Engineering News – where recycled blades can be useful:
Global Fiberglass Solutions, headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, turns the blades into reinforced plastic pellets for manufacturing durable products like maintenance hole covers.
Waste management giant Veolia shreds blades into small pieces that go in kilns to replace the coal, sand and clay required to make cement.
Knoxville, Tennessee's Carbon Rivers recovers strong fibers from blades using a high-temperature process called pyrolysis; these can be used as-is or in the form of thermoplastic fabrics or pellets to make heavy-duty automotive parts.
There are also a number of efforts to make blades easier to repurpose or discard – from a quick-dissolving resin to manufacture them, to GE's recyclable thermoplastic, to a relatively inexpensive way to break down epoxy-based blades.
But while those are being tested and deployed worldwide over the next few decades, we'll still have this mounting issue of disposed blades to solve. The Lanzhou research team, meanwhile, will take on more projects to demonstrate its recycling technique, and establish it as a scalable way to repurpose old blades.
MORE
A new report reveals that the U.S. has the capability to recycle up to 90% of wind turbine materials.
Dumping illegal waste from rich countries in poor countries is a pan-European problem.
Languages: Czech
Masses of fibreglass debris from wind turbine blades and aircraft parts were illegally transported from Germany to a small Czech municipality, prompting investigations and calls for a European solution, as it was not an isolated case.
The first waste lorries arrived in Jiříkov, a village in north-eastern Czechia, before Christmas. Others followed in January.
Jiříkov Mayor Barbora Šišková told Euractiv Czechia that when she raised the issue publicly, she discovered other cases in other municipalities.
The shipment, from the German company ROTH International, labelled as plastic waste, was destined for the Czech company Piroplastik, which had claimed to be processing plastic materials. On inspection, however, it turned out to be fibreglass - almost impossible to recycle - raising suspicions of illegal dumping.
Authorities have seized five trucks on site, and local officials and police continue to investigate. Meanwhile, inspectors from the Czech Environmental Inspectorate are coordinating efforts with German authorities to return the waste to its source.
“The waste demonstrably comes from Germany,” Czech Environment Ministry spokeswoman Veronika Krejčí confirmed to Euractiv Czechia.
Euractiv Czechia contacted the German company for comment but did not receive a reply.
Meanwhile, the mayor is furious that richer countries are exporting such waste to poorer ones and vows to fight the issue at the European level.
“It does not only concern us, but it is a pan-European problem,” she added.
The 1950s America was the world leader in fibreglass kit car design and construction. The composite material must have seemed like a gift from the heavens, allowing small scale car manufacturers to create beautiful, complex body designs without needing to handcraft each car from aluminum alloy or steel – a huge time saver.
One of the leading lights of this fibreglass car movement was Jim Byers. He had previously teamed up with Dick Jones to create and build the 1953 Meteor SR1 sports car but when Jones moved interstate Byers set up on his own. He improved the design and called it the Byers SR100, each body was made of hand-laid fibreglass and designed to fit a 100 inch wheelbase.Customers who bought a Byers SR100 body would typically either build or source their own drive train, chassis, and running gear, finishing the car off in their own garage.The SR100 and the SR1 on which it was based were designed to accommodate the engine in a front-mid engine configuration allowing for optimal weight distribution. The fibreglass body tipped the scales at just 125 lbs, and the completed car would typically weigh in at a little over 2,000 lbs and be fitted with a V8 capable of 200+ hp and over 200 ft lbs of torque.This car is one of the original survivors from the 1950s. The car uses a 1949 Ford sedan chassis, this was the first year that the model had independent front suspension. The ’49 Ford chassis was cut in the center and shortened to fit a 100 inch wheelbase, it kept front and rear leaf springs and used drum brakes on all four corners. Power was provided by a 265 cu. in. 1956 small block Chevrolet V8, it’s located in a front-mid-position and it’s apparently possible to physically stand in the gap between the front of the engine and the front axle line. This V8 produces 220 hp and 270 ft lbs torque, close to the stock figures for the engine and more than enough for the featherlight Byers.
