A comparative pyrolysis study of different waste wind turbine blade parts: Kinetics, product distribution and evolution, and economics

The resource treatment and recycling of waste wind turbine blades (WWTBs) have become an important challenge globally. Considering mechanical strength during operation, the designed construction of WTBs consists of B1 (balsa-filled part), B2 (polyethylene terephthalate (PET) foam-filled part) and B3 (pure glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) part), whereas direct mixed treatment can generate low-quality and heterogeneous products. Current studies focused on B3 or the whole blades, but few studied the pyrolysis behavior and energy value of different parts. In this study, the comparative study of the kinetic, product distribution and evolution, and economics of different parts was conducted. Thermogravimetric and kinetic revealed the phase transitions and energy requirements during conversion. Py-GC/MS and fixed-bed experiments confirmed that B1 and B2 generated more oils and gases with more coke in the solids at 600 degrees C, which was related to carbonization of their core components. High O/C ratios of balsa and PET caused more oxygen-containing groups and products to be produced in the B1 and B2 reaction pathways. The high economics indicated that pyrolysis was suitable for B2 and B3, and the detailed exploration of B1 part should be continued. Our work provides application guidance for resource recovery and utilization of different WWTB parts.