Large Wind Turbine Blade Low-Carbon Recycling Technology: Challenges and Opportunities

With the improved global wind power situation, the wind power industry is developing rapidly. Annual newly installed capacity in China increases steadily. To cope with the cost pressure of the low-price era in the wind power industry, wind turbines are continuously upsized, which has led to an annual increase in blade weight. As the early blades retire in large numbers, the non-degradable waste blades exert a tremendous pressure on the environment. This paper sorts out the key issues and challenges in the recycling of retired wind power blades. The current mainstream wind power blade recycling technologies are also listed, including mechanical recycling, thermal recycling, chemical recycling, and recyclable blade technologies. The differences among various recycling technology are analyzed systematically as well. From the perspective of the wind power industry and blade enterprises, it proposes development suggestions for recycling technologies, including blade extension, component recycling, and recyclable technologies.

Against the backdrop of global dual-carbon goals, the wind power industry is developing rapidly. Facing the environmental pressures brought by the increasing number of retired blades in recent years, there is an urgent need to develop low-cost, high-value, and low-carbon recycling technologies to overcome the challenge. The key scientific and technical issues causing difficulties in the degradation and recycling of retired blades mainly include a lack of technology for blades to serve beyond their designed lifespan, insufficient low-carbon material substitution technologies, and a scarcity of complete degradation and high-value recycling technologies. The key scientific and technical issues that make it difficult to degrade and recycle retired blades mainly include the lack of technology for blades to serve beyond their designed lifespan, insufficient alternatives for low-carbon emission materials, and a scarcity of fully degradable high-value recycling technologies. Mechanical recycling, thermal recycling, chemical recycling, and recyclable blade technologies are the current main recycling technologies. However, to meet the needs of blade life extension, the recycling of critical components, and complete blade recycling, relying on a single recycling technology is not sufficient. It is necessary to develop recycling technologies that can be used in combination for different purposes. In the future, the green, low-carbon, and high-quality development of the wind power industry can be promoted, and the rapid formation of new productive forces in China can be supported, through the development of systems for estimating the remaining life of turbines and blades, expanding the high-value application areas of retired blade components, exploring commercial recycling models for retired blades, developing next-generation blade technologies including recyclable technologies, and researching recycling and reuse technologies for retired wind turbines.