Wind power is growing in popularity. disposal is a problem when it's time to replace the turbine blades. Scientists have found a new material that can be used to make giant objects that can be recycled into new turbine blades or other products.
The results of the research will be presented at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society.
The beauty of the system is that it can be dissolved at the end of its use cycle so that it can be used over and over again. The goal of the circular economy is to eliminate waste.
The wind turbine blades are made of fiberglass. Most discarded blades end up in the garbage. The disposal problem is going to get worse. The larger wind turbine blades are more efficient. Wind farms will usually replace the turbine blades before the end of their service lives.
A new turbine material was created by combining glass fibers with a plant-derived synthetic material. It was possible to make panels that were strong and durable. The researchers were able to make new products of the same type by dissolving the panels and removing the glass fibers. The recast panels were the same as their predecessors.
In addition to the new wind turbine blades, the novel resin could be used for a lot of other things. The team produced cultured stone that could be turned into objects such as countertops and sinks. Dorgan says that they recently made a bathroom sink with cultured stone. The recovered material can be mixed with other plastic to make injection molded items, which are used to make items like laptop covers and power tools.
The material could be used to make higher- value products. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), a common acrylic material for windows, car taillights and many other items, is a result of Digesting the thermoplastic resins in an alkaline solution. PMMA is converted into poly(meth acid), a super-absorbent polymers, when the temperature is raised. It is possible to make candy and sports drinks out of the produce of the alkaline digestion. "We made gummy bear candy out of food grade potassium lactate, which I ate," Dorgan said.
The researchers hope to make some moderately sized blades for field testing now that they know that the resin has good physical properties. The current limitation is that there's not enough of the bioplastic that we're using to satisfy this market, so there needs to be considerable production volume brought online if we're going to actually start making wind turbine out of these materials
There is a "yuck factor" to eating candy that was once part of a wind turbine. Dorgan doesn't believe in that. He says that a carbon atom derived from a plant is the same as a carbon atom derived from a fossil fuel. It's all part of the global carbon cycle, and we've shown that we can go from the field to plastic and back to food.
More information: Composite resins for the circular economy: From wind turbines to gummy bear candy and beyond, ACS Fall 2022. www.acs.org/content/acs/en/mee … tings/fall-2022.html
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