SUSTAINABILITY

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ZEBRA project demonstrates closed-loop wind recycling system

Consortium partners have proven the complete recycling of thermoplastic wind turbines via two manufactured wind blades, featuring reduced operating cost, CO2 emissions.

Grace Nehls
Edited by:  Grace Nehls
Senior Managing Editor, CompositesWorld

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Source | Arkema

The ZEBRA (Zero wastE Blade ReseArch) project, led by the French Institute for Technological Research (IRT Jules Verne, Bouguenais) and supported by Arkema (Cologne, Germany), glass fiber supplier Owens Corning (Toledo, Ohio, U.S.), dismantling and waste processing company Suez (Paris, France), the Canoe (Pessac, France) R&D center, LM Wind Power (Kolding, Denmark)  and Engie SA (La Défense, France) for life cycle analysis (LCA), has demonstrated the complete recycling of thermoplastic wind blades.

The project successfully recycled Arkema Elium resin and Owen Corning’s Ultrablade fabrics from wind turbine blades and manufacturing waste, reformulating them back into usable materials. This closed-loop process addresses the growing challenge of end-of-life (EOL) blade management within the wind energy industry.

Each company played a crucial role in the development of the closed-loop recycling process:

  • Arkema developed and validated a recycled Elium monomer through thermolysis, achieving a yield of more than 75%. In addition, together with its subsidiary Bostik, an adhesive for the blade assembly that is recycled together with Elium was developed. Arkema says this paves the way for industrial-scale implementation.
  • Owens Corning successfully recovered glass fiber at pilot scale, enabling its reintroduction for remelting and reintegration into the production process for the company’s Sustaina product line.
  • LM Wind Power manufactured two wind turbine blades with Elium resin and Ultrablade fabrics; one blade includes a large structural element made with recycled Elium resin.
  • Suez provided cutting and grinding expertise for processing the blades.
  • Canoe R&D center optimized recycling for production and carbon fiber blade waste, additionally developing methods for repurposing waste streams through mechanical recycling.
  • Engie conducted a comprehensive LCA, demonstrating the environmental benefits of closed-loop ZEBRA blades and validating their economic viability.

According to partners, the ZEBRA blade’s operating cost, CO2 emissions and recycling investment are significantly reduced.

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