MATERIALS AND APPLICATIONS
Figure 3: Combined end-of-life and eco-design approach in the
Refresh project.
to work on eco-design by applying this approach to a wide range of new products based on materials recycled from end-of-life wind turbines. The project concept can be illustrated with the open cycle scheme in Figure 3. The eco-design strategies on which Cetma is mainly working are design for recycling, through the use of recyclable materials, and design for disassembly, thanks to the development of reversible adhesives. In addition, Cetma has developed and patented a new mechanical recycling process for composites that involves the use of a thermoplastic binder. This allows the thermal reprocessing of the material, for example thermoforming into new geometry and also the subsequent end-of-life recycling using the same process but without the need to add additional binder. A demo panel made with the ecodesign method is shown in Figure 4. The mixed composition based on glass and carbon composite, both deriving from a decommissioned wind turbine, is evident. First, a flat semi-finished panel was produced, which was then thermoformed using a mould with a slight curvature for the sole purpose of demonstrating the ability of the material to be reshaped thermally, thanks to the use of the thermoplastic binder. The mechanical performance of the recycled material has been measured and found to be on a par with traditional thermosetting-matrix BMCs( bulk moulding compounds), commonly used in the automotive sector. A number of other applications are currently being explored.
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Figure 4: Demonstration of the composite recycling process developed by Cetma for the Refresh project.
cling tests, reactive thermoplastics were identified as the most promising solution to meet the project objectives in terms of both material properties and industrial scalability of the recycling process. Cetma and its partner ÉireComposites( Ireland), therefore, designed and built a section of a wind turbine blade made of 100 % recyclable thermoplastic matrix in order to validate the newly developed materials and processes( Figure 2).
END-OF-LIFE APPROACH: THE REFRESH PROJECT The Horizon Europe Refresh project( 2023-2026) deals with the development of a new circular and intelligent system for the efficiency of recycling processes( be mechanical, thermal or chemical) of fibre-reinforced composites resulting from the dismantling of wind turbines. In addition, the consortium has the opportunity
CONCLUSIONS End-of-life and eco-design approaches are two different but complementary ways of responding to the same need- that of reducing the ecological footprint of manufactured products. End-of-life strategies ensure that waste is no longer waste, i. e. it is not disposed of, but can be“ circulated” backwards along the value chain in order to preserve resources( components, materials, energy) for as long as possible. Eco-design is the new conceptual model according to which today’ s new products should be designed, in order to improve their environmental performance and promote end-of-life management. With the two aforementioned projects in the wind turbine segment, Cetma aims to make its contribution to the circularity of composite materials, with results that can be extended to other application sectors. Further developments are currently underway aiming to use the new materials and processes in other products and applications.
The team of the Marewind project includes Andrea Tinti, Francesca Felline, Michele Arganese and Matteo Quarta. www. plastmagazine. it