Message From The Editor
IS A SOLUTION TO FIBREGLASS RECYCLING ON THE HORIZON?
We're coming to a point where composite parts used in wind turbines have been deployed for several decades and fatigue and environmental deterioration, plus new, more efficient designs mean old blades are being replaced.
The question there is, how do you throw away a wind blade that's 50m long?
In a recent edition of the Composites World ndewsletter, Sara Black writes, “General Electric (Boston, MA, US) recently posted an article entitled “Comeback Kids: This Company Gives Old Wind Turbine Blades A Second Life” written by Amy Kover, on its GE Reports web site, a daily news, video and social media hub featuring timely, insightful articles. According to the article, repowering — or replacing existing technology with more advanced tech, such as newer blades — can increase an entire wind farm's performance by up to 25 percent and extend its life by up to 20 years. But, says Kover, repowering also creates a new twist on the ages-old conundrum trailing progress: what to do with the obsolete technology. Crushing a blade yields about 15,000 pounds of fiberglass waste, and the process creates hazardous dust. Given their enormous length, sending them to a landfill whole is out of the question.”
This photo is taken from a YouTube video posted by Matpro Machinery (Glasgow, Scotland) showing how their equipment is used to recycle old wind turbine blades.
The article goes on to describe the efforts of Ronald Albrecht and Don Lilly of Global Fiberglass Solutions Inc. (Bothell, WA, US). Their Seattle-area-based company, which has been recycling fiberglass since 2008, has invented a way to transform the old blades into products like manhole covers, building panels and pallets."
Apparently a single blade yields about 15-20 bags of this waste, weighing between 700 and 1,000 pounds each. GFSI will reuse 100 percent of each blade. Even the bolts that circle the blade's end section go to a metal salvage site for recycling.
It seems to me that if a market develops for products made from recycled fibreglass, there could be a more economically viable way to dispose of unwanted fibreglass vessels.
According to GFSI, it has developed a patented and proprietary process for recycling fiberglass, grinding it into recyclable feedstock that is mixed with other compounds to form a moldable material.
Let's hope this effort rolls out to be an option for the boat business before a legislated solution is introduced.
Andy Adams, Editor aadams@kerrwil.com
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Changing Scene
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YOU ARE INVITED TO ATTEND THE NMMA CANADA BOATING INDUSTRY BREAKFAST
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Education
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People
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Boating Stock Market
THE BOATING STOCK MARKET
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Calendar
Check out all of the upcoming events in your Boating Industry
Toronto International Boat Show
January 12-21 , 2018
Toronto, ON
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Vancouver International Boat Show
January 17 - 21, 2018
Vancouver, BC
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Calgary Boat & Sportsmen's Show
February 8-11, 2018
Calgary, AB
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Daily Updates
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