Manufacturing, Testing and Recycling of a small recyclable wind turbine blade

Abstract

[EN] Thermoplastic resins are likely to replace thermoset resins in wind blade manufacturing, as their similar structural properties together with their recyclability would enable the reuse of the raw materials in other composites at the end of life. This paper presents the manufacturing, testing and recycling process of a 1 m thermoplastic composite wind turbine blade compared to a similar thermoset blade. The results showed that the static and centrifugal performance of the two blades were similar, but the thermoplastic composite blade had a lower deflection compared to the epoxy blade. The different components of the thermoplastic blade were recovered by immersion in a suitable solvent for their possible reuse in the manufacture of a new wind turbine blade. Thus, this study provides an example of the use of circular economy principles in a strategic renewable sector, wind energy, validating the use of a new thermoplastic resin in the design and recycling of wind turbine blades, without changing their current manufacturing process.