Solutions for recycling emerging wind turbine blade waste in China are not yet effective

Juhua Yang; Fanran Meng; Lixiao Zhang; Jon Mckechnie; Yuan Chang; Bingran Ma; Yan Hao; Xiang Li; Kyle Pender; Liu Yang; Gary A. Leeke; Jonathan M. Cullen

doi:10.1038/s43247-023-01104-w

Solutions for recycling emerging wind turbine blade waste in China are not yet effective

Juhua Yang, Fanran Meng^*, Lixiao Zhang^*, Jon Mckechnie, Yuan Chang, Bingran Ma, Yan Hao, Xiang Li, Kyle Pender, Liu Yang, Gary A. Leeke, Jonathan M. Cullen^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Chemical Engineering

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Abstract

Wind power supply chains are evolving as markets expand to reach climate goals. With the largest installed wind power capacity globally, China must deal with increasing composite turbine waste and anticipate its associated costs. Here we predict the quantity and composition of wind turbine blade waste based on historic deployment. A high-resolution database containing 14 turbine capacities (150–5500 kilowatts) was compiled based on 104 turbine models. The environmental and financial costs of waste treatment options were evaluated using a bottom-up approach. Based on current installations and future projections, 7.7 to 23.1 million tonnes of blade waste will be generated in China by 2050. Technologies exist to recycle glass fibre from blade waste, but these solutions vary in level of maturity and are not always commercially available, cost-competitive, or environmentally sustainable. Our findings can inform decision-makers in governments and industry on the pathways to carbon neutrality.

Original language	English
Article number	466
Number of pages	14
Journal	Communications Earth & Environment
Volume	4
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-01104-w
Publication status	Published - 12 Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported in part by Funds of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (72161147003; 52070022). This work has benefited from the discussion with Stella Job from Composites UK and Rongqi Zhang from the Fibre Composite Materials Recycling Branch of China National Resources Recycling Association. F.M. and J.M.C. would like to acknowledge support from C-THRU: Carbon clarity in the global petrochemical supply chain ( www.c-thru.org ). F.M. would also like to acknowledge startup fund support from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering University of Sheffield.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s).

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Environmental Science
General Earth and Planetary Sciences

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Cite this

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abstract = "Wind power supply chains are evolving as markets expand to reach climate goals. With the largest installed wind power capacity globally, China must deal with increasing composite turbine waste and anticipate its associated costs. Here we predict the quantity and composition of wind turbine blade waste based on historic deployment. A high-resolution database containing 14 turbine capacities (150–5500 kilowatts) was compiled based on 104 turbine models. The environmental and financial costs of waste treatment options were evaluated using a bottom-up approach. Based on current installations and future projections, 7.7 to 23.1 million tonnes of blade waste will be generated in China by 2050. Technologies exist to recycle glass fibre from blade waste, but these solutions vary in level of maturity and are not always commercially available, cost-competitive, or environmentally sustainable. Our findings can inform decision-makers in governments and industry on the pathways to carbon neutrality.",

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Solutions for recycling emerging wind turbine blade waste in China are not yet effective

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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