Researchers turn wind turbine waste into graphene using electrical pulses
A new technique at Tsinghua University transforms discarded blades into materials that could strengthen future turbine components.
Researchers at Tsinghua University in China have developed a method to transform discarded wind turbine blades into silicon carbide and graphene using intense electrical pulses, according to the Times of India.
The research team, led by Bing Deng, used a technique called flash Joule heating to heat ground blade material mixed with carbon black to approximately 2,000°C in 0.5 seconds.
The process reacts silica from glass fibres with carbon to create silicon carbide and reorganises resin carbon into graphene, which can be used as an additive in fresh epoxy resin.
Testing showed that adding 0.3% of the mixture by weight to epoxy resin increased tensile strength by approximately 11% and tensile stiffness by 27% compared to unmodified resin.
The study also found that adding 0.1% of the recovered material increased the resin's thermal diffusivity by approximately 41%.
A life-cycle assessment estimated the technique could produce 83% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than thermal recycling with heat recovery and 92% fewer emissions than chemical dissolution using nitric acid.