Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

With promising efficiency and green motive, Wind energy has developed rapidly over the last two decades to become a preferred and professional viable option of Renewable Energy.

Modern wind power applies to convert the kinetic (movement) energy deriving from wind into mechanical energy.

It is done through the schematic rotation of large fiberglass blades attached to a central piece (the nacelle) that is mounted on a steel tower finally triggering a generator to produce electricity.

Wind turbines, as they are called, can be located onshore or offshore, discretely or in collaboration with Solar cells atop.

While commercially exploiting the wind turbine installations, the problem of blade disposal is just beginning to emerge as a significant factor for the future.

Is Wind energy entirely pollution free?

According to a 2017 University of Cambridge study, Windmill blades will account for 43 million tonnes of waste in 2050 as most of it ends up in landfills now being hard to recycle.

This will include China possessing 40% of the waste, Europe 25%, the United States 16% and the rest of the world 19%.

What makes Turbine blades so difficult to recycle?

In terms of durability, wind turbines survive for an average of about 25 years.

When these wind turbines are decommissioned, their blades are sent to scrap or recycling. At times blades are even disposed of in case wind farms are being upgraded in a process known as repowering.

Repowering means keeping the same site, utilizing the original basic infrastructure but upgrading with larger capacity turbines. The blades might need replacement with more modern and typically larger blades.

Although it is possible to cut the blades into a few pieces onsite but it becomes difficult and costly to transport for recycling or disposal. Also the process of cutting the extremely strong blades requires huge equipments such as vehicle mounted wire saws or diamond-wire saws similar to what is used in quarries.

About 85 percent of its compositional materials—such as steel, copper wire, electronics, and gearing—can be recycled or reused.

The blades being different, are made up of fiberglass (a composite material) to be lightweight for super-efficiency yet expected to be durable enough to withstand storms.

These blades are made by mixing glass or carbon fibres with sticky epoxy resin and then heating it to combine the materials.

It then yields a strong as well as light-weight composite material necessary to render strength but also makes it hard to separate the original materials for recycling.

Also, the wind industry has been increasing the blade length approximately 6.5 feet per year over the last 10 years because longer the blade, the more reliability and stability (longest at 88.4 meters — the blade is currently undergoing testing for product validation in Denmark). This anyhow increases the efficiency of wind energy generation.

Due to light weight of Composite materials, blades can spin faster and capture winds at even comparatively lower velocity.

Composites offer multiple benefits to wind manufacturers: strength and flexibility in processing along with the added benefit of a lightweight material for easy operation.

It is corrosion-resistant, dimensionally stable, resistance to torsion, fatigue and high temperatures and allot high-dielectric strength, all important for high-performance blades.

How the emerging innovation helps correct this ecological anomaly?

With this new innovative technique developed by Vestas, Denmark’s Aarhus University and the Danish Technological Institute, chemicals are then separated from the base material just “similar to virgin materials” that can then be used for construction of new blades.

According to Vestas, the Chemical producer of resin being used in the blades; for recycling the glass or carbon fibre is separated from resin and then further separate the resin into base materials.

The project aims to harness the technology for industrial scale production within upcoming three years and also utilize this technology to be used for airplane and car components in probable future.

Another consortium of few Global Universities called Re-wind has developed some interesting civil engineering project ideas for reusing and repurposing fiberglass blades.

Are 100% recyclable wind systems possible?

According to a report, over 14,000 wind turbine blades will be decommissioned alone in Europe over the next few years, estimating that wind-energy sector uses about 2.5 million tons of composite materials.

Other nascent technologies like mechanical recycling, solvolysis, and pyrolysis are also being developed to have dedicated sustainable end-use of wind blades.

While technologies to increase efficacies work, some alternatives always help. Advanced research and development has accommodated using the thermoplastic resin in place of fiberglass or carbon fiber for wind turbine blades which may be easier and cheaper to recycle.

Problem lies in the fact that the Industry currently is facing lack of regulatory pressure or market incentives to fully develop other end-of-use options to look for.

Any such welcoming step by Governments of the hour can help the industry and policy makers to estimate the size of impending environmental problem and help to manage it better.

By Alaina Ali Beg

I am a lover of all arts and therefore can dream myself in all places where the World takes me. I am an avid animal lover and firmly believes that Nature is the true sorcerer.