To achieve climate neutrality by 2050, our energy must be both generated by renewable sources and seamlessly integrated into a circular economy. TNO, in collaboration with several partners, is working on the three-year CIRCLE4WIN project to develop a commercially viable method for recycling composite wind turbine blades. In addition to the recycling process itself, the project also focuses on optimising the logistics process for large-scale application.
Recycling process
While 90% of the wind turbine is already recycled, the plastic composite turbine blades still pose a challenge. The CIRCLE4WIN project involves thermally decomposing to work on a circular wind turbine blade.
This process separated the glass fibres by heating in an oxygen-free furnace (pyrolysis), followed by a combustion step with oxygen where the resin serves as fuel for the process. The reclaimed glass must be made suitable as a raw material for newly manufactured glass fibre, to be used in commercial recyclable plastic products and wind turbine blades.