Review of Waste Wind Turbine Blade Recycling Methods

Abstract

The wind energy sector is currently undergoing a rapid growth. The global installed capacity of wind turbines has reached 1132.8 GW, demonstrating a 2.7-fold increase over the past decade. Should this growth rate continue, projections indicate that, even under the most conservative scenario, their installed capacity will reach 2800 GW by 2035, accounting for 15–18% of global electricity generation. Consequently, there is a serious concern about the accumulation of spent blades of wind turbines, which are currently decommissioned at an average service life of no more than 25 years. The core challenge stems from the fact that the blades are fabricated from composite materials where glass fiber reinforcement is permanently embedded within a polymer matrix. This renders direct reuse unfeasible and poses substantial obstacles to recycling. The article examines the primary methods and technological pathways for recycling blade composite materials, including mechanical recycling, chemical recycling via solvolysis, thermal recycling through pyrolysis and incineration, and co-processing, such as utilization in cement manufacture. The advantages and drawbacks of these methods are analyzed in terms of such indicators as the quality of recovered glass fiber, the viability of producing secondary recycled materials, energy consumption, technological maturity, and the commercial potential of the processes. Pyrolysis is highlighted as a promising method for processing spent blades. This process enables the recovery of glass fiber of acceptable quality for use in the manufacture of less critical composite materials at relatively low energy consumption. Future research lines within this technological domain are outlined, with placing emphasis on investigating the influence of critical process parameters—namely, temperature, thermal treatment duration, and gas medium composition—on the efficiency of carbon removal from the fibers.