[Verge] Recycling / repurposing wind turbine blades

[VirtualLarry]

Engineers are using old wind turbine blades to build bridges

Old blades still have a lot of life left in them.

www.theverge.com

This was interesting. I didn't even realize that we now have a wind turbine waste problem...

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah fibreglsss is a problem to recycle. Cool that they are finding ways to upcycle them. The industry should probably look into a loner term solution though even if it means rethinking what materials are used or find a way to recycle them into more raw materials.

Another big problem we rarely hear about: tires. Vulcanized materials are very hard to recycle back into the same product. So while there are ways to recycle tires to some degree there is no way to recycle them back into new tires. At least not that I know of.

 

[lxskllr]

From the article...

According to Ruane, a major challenge in constructing these bridges is reverse-engineering the physical properties of the blades, which manufacturers typically consider proprietary information.

You think your little blade is special, and don't want to release design data? Removal costs will be paid up front in the blade cost by *you*, and when it's taken down, it will go back to *your* facilities to deal with. What's that? It costs to much, and you won't be able to sell them here? Ask how many fucks I give? Go ahead, ask. Maybe some other country will let you sell your special little blades there. We can do that, or you can release design data so others can use the waste you created. Your choice...

 

[KB]

If the blade is strong enough to be used as a bridge, why is it not strong enough to stay on the windmill?

"the company behind Poland’s new blade bridge, tells The Verge that wind blades often have decades of life left in them after a turbine is decommissioned "

I have an idea. Recycle them by putting them on another windmill.

 

[deadlyapp]

If the blade is strong enough to be used as a bridge, why is it not strong enough to stay on the windmill?

"the company behind Poland’s new blade bridge, tells The Verge that wind blades often have decades of life left in them after a turbine is decommissioned "

I have an idea. Recycle them by putting them on another windmill.

Generally have safety parameters and design life built into them. Might work for 20 more years but the safety factor goes down with time and the risk of catastrophic failure increases. It is probably more expensive to do a full analysis of the blade vs just replacing it.

 

[K1052]

If the blade is strong enough to be used as a bridge, why is it not strong enough to stay on the windmill?

"the company behind Poland’s new blade bridge, tells The Verge that wind blades often have decades of life left in them after a turbine is decommissioned "

I have an idea. Recycle them by putting them on another windmill.

The industry has shifted to larger units with muuuch longer blades.

 

[IronWing]

I've contemplated building a pedestrian bridge. The longer blades might work.

 

[Zanix]

The industry has shifted to larger units with muuuch longer blades.

where's the second hand market like with solar panels

 

[K1052]

where's the second hand market like with solar panels

Since they are more difficult to site I’d presume that there isn’t a lot of market for small turbine blades. Why stick a 1MW or less turbine on a pad when you can do several times that which means less installed cost per MW. Same doesn’t probably apply to 2nd hand solar panels.

 

[Zorba]

Yeah fibreglsss is a problem to recycle. Cool that they are finding ways to upcycle them. The industry should probably look into a loner term solution though even if it means rethinking what materials are used or find a way to recycle them into more raw materials.

Another big problem we rarely hear about: tires. Vulcanized materials are very hard to recycle back into the same product. So while there are ways to recycle tires to some degree there is no way to recycle them back into new tires. At least not that I know of.

Yeah, I don't think you can recycle tires back to tires. Shredded tire mulch is amazing at playgrounds, though. They should use the state "disposal" fees to shred the tires and give them to schools for playgrounds. Playground mulch, even wood mulch, is very expensive and most schools and city parks don't keep proper thickness.

Through my HOA I got the tire mulch for our neighborhood playground. Cost about twice as much as wood mulch but it has already lasted more than twice as long.