Waste Management of Wind Turbine Blades: A Comprehensive Review on Available Recycling Technologies with A Focus on Overcoming Potential Environmental Hazards Caused by Microplastic Production

• Published in: Sustainability 2024-06, Vol.16 (11), p.4517
• Main Authors: Tayebi, Sara Taherinezhad, Sambucci, Matteo, Valente, Marco
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air pollution; Air-turbines; Belgium; China; Circular economy; Climate change; Coal-fired power plants; Composite materials; Earth; Emissions; Endangered species; Energy industry; Global warming; Green technology; Greenhouse gases; Industrial plant emissions; Natural resources; PCB; Plastic pollution; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Raw materials; Refuse and refuse disposal; Sustainable development; Turbines; United Kingdom; Waste management; Water pollution; Wind power
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su16114517

The 2020 targets for sustainable development and circular economy encourage global leaders and countries to legislate laws and policies on several critical hot topics to prevent further global warming: (1) the increased utilization of renewable electrical power (wind turbine implants, as an example); (2) waste transformation into high-added-value materials based on the European Green Deal for energy transition; and (3) material and energy recovery and circularity. Accordingly, scholars and researchers have predicted that, hopefully, installed wind power capacity is going to increase dramatically by 2050. However, our ecosystem will have to face and deal with an enormous amount of decommissioned turbine blades. The disposal of these wastes via conventional methods could not only raise the possibility of microplastic formation, but could also boost the probability of environmental issues such as air pollution, soil, water contamination, etc. Moreover, these hazards will endanger wildlife and humans. As a result, the waste management of these retired blades composed of multi-lateral composite materials through a sustainable, effective, and feasible single/or hybrid process is necessary. This review aims to summarize all of the information about turbines, introduce all the various recycling pathways used for their blades, and provide a comparative analysis of these methods as well. In addition, the paper defines the possibility of microplastic formation from this waste (especially end-of-life turbine blade scraps), points out potential risks for the Earth, and suggests actions to inhibit their build-up and to keep the environment safe.