“New Chemical Process for Recycling Epoxy Composites in Wind Turbines and Other Industries”
Revolutionary Chemical Process to Recycle Epoxy Composites: A Step Towards a Circular Economy
A groundbreaking chemical process has been discovered by researchers at Aarhus University, which can potentially revolutionize the recycling of fibre-reinforced epoxy composites. This innovative process is not limited to wind turbine blades but can be applied to a wide range of materials, including those reinforced with costly carbon fibres. The discovery could pave the way for a circular economy in industries such as wind turbines, aerospace, automotive, and space, where these reinforced composites are extensively used due to their lightweight and long-lasting properties.
The Environmental Challenge of Durable Materials
While the durability of these materials is a boon for the industries that use them, it poses a significant environmental challenge. Wind turbine blades, for instance, are incredibly difficult to break down and often end up in waste landfills when decommissioned. If no solution is found, it is estimated that by 2050, we will have accumulated 43 million tonnes of wind turbine blade waste globally.
A Potential Solution: A New Chemical Process
The newly discovered process offers a potential solution to this problem. It is a proof-of-concept of a recycling strategy that can be applied to the vast majority of both existing wind turbine blades and those currently in production, as well as other epoxy-based materials. The results of this research have been published in the leading scientific journal Nature, and Aarhus University, in collaboration with the Danish Technological Institute, has filed a patent application for the process.
How Does the Process Work?
Specifically, the researchers have demonstrated that by using a ruthenium-based catalyst and the solvents isopropanol and toluene, they can separate the epoxy matrix and release one of the epoxy polymer’s original building blocks, bisphenol A (BPA), and fully intact glass fibres in a single process. However, the method is not immediately scalable yet, as the catalytic system is not efficient enough for industrial implementation, and ruthenium is a rare and expensive metal. Therefore, the scientists from Aarhus University are continuing their work on improving this methodology.
A Significant Breakthrough
“Nevertheless, we see it as a significant breakthrough for the development of durable technologies that can create a circular economy for epoxy-based materials. This is the first publication of a chemical process that can selectively disassemble an epoxy composite and isolate one of the most important building blocks of the epoxy polymer as well as the glass or carbon fibres without damaging the latter in the process,” says Troels Skrydstrup, one of the lead authors of the study and a professor at the Department of Chemistry and the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) at Aarhus University.
Supporting the Research
The research is supported by the CETEC project (Circular Economy for Thermosets Epoxy Composites), which is a partnership between Vestas, Olin Corporation, the Danish Technological Institute, and Aarhus University. The patent application for this process underscores the potential of this discovery and its potential impact on various industries.
Research Method and Publication Details
The research was conducted as an experimental study, and the findings were published in an article titled “Catalytic disconnection of C–O bonds in epoxy resins and composites” on 26-Apr-2023. Four of the authors are inventors on provisional patent application no. EP22156129, submitted by Aarhus University, which covers the transition-metal-catalysed disassembly of epoxy-based, fibre-reinforced, polymer composites.
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