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Wind Turbine Blades Using Recycled Carbon Fibers: An Environmental Assessment.

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Upadhyayula, Venkata KK  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8947-869X
Gadhamshetty, Venkataramana  ORCID logo  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8418-3515
Athanassiadis, Dimitris 
Tysklind, Mats 

Abstract

Polymers reinforced with virgin carbon fibers (VCF) are being used to make spar caps of wind turbine (WT) blades and polymers with glass fibers (GF) to make skins of the blade components. Here, we assess the life cycle environmental performance of the hybrid blades with spar caps based on VCF and the shells and shear webs based on RCF (recycled CF) composites (RCF-hybrid). The production of the WT blades and associated reinforced polymers is assumed to occur in Sweden, with their uses and end-of-life management in the European region. The functional unit is equivalent to three blades in an offshore WT with the market incumbent blades solely based on the GF composite or the hybrid option. The RCF-hybrid blades offer 12-89% better environmental performance in nine out of 10 impact categories and 6-26% better in six out of 10 impact categories. The RCF-hybrid blades exhibit optimum environmental performance when the VCF manufacturing facilities are equipped with pollution abatement systems including regenerative thermal oxidizers to reduce ammonia and hydrogen cyanide emissions; spar caps are made using VCF epoxy composites through pultrusion and resin infusion molding, and the blade scrap is mechanically recycled at the end of life. The energy and carbon payback times for the RCF-hybrid blades were found to be 5-13% lower than those of the market incumbents.

Description

Keywords

energy and carbon payback time, high-performance discontinuous fiber technology, life cycle assessment, recycled carbon fibers, wind turbine blade components, Carbon, Carbon Fiber, Recycling, Sweden

Journal Title

Environ Sci Technol

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0013-936X
1520-5851

Volume Title

Publisher

American Chemical Society (ACS)