Processing and Performance of Recyclable Composites for Wind Turbine Blades

End-of-life disposal of wind turbine blades poses environmental problems because the currently, blades are made from composites which are non-biodegradable and non-recyclable. To address this issue, Adesso has developed Cleavamine curing agents for epoxy resins. The curing agents contain cleavable bonds in the molecules that can be cleaved under mild conditions, opening a pathway to recycling of epoxy composites. In the present study, epoxy resins were formulated using Cleavamine curing agents, then charactered and analyzed. Protocals for VARTM processing (vacuum assisted resin transfer molding) were developed for the recyclable resin systems. Lastly, fiberglass-epoxy laminates were fabricated and subsequently subjected to matrix dissolution, and the properties of recovered fibers were evaluated. Results showed that void-free laminates could be produced using the recyclable epoxy resins, and the recovered glass fibers retain surface quality nearly identical to virgin fibers.