Life cycle assessment of concrete with wind turbine blade waste: A real case study

Abstract

Europe is among the most important wind-energy producers in the world, yet a commonly accepted solution is to be found towards Wind Turbine Blade Waste (WTBW) from wind turbine blades at the end of their lifespan. In this research, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), regarding Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Abiotic Depletion Potential for fossil fuels (ADPf), was first used to study landfilling, incineration and mechanical recycling of WTBW. Mechanical recycling was highlighted as the best option, as incineration showed higher impacts (x4.5 GWP, x1.2 ADPf) and landfilling is forbidden by the European Union. Afterwards, WTBW management was combined with concrete production by considering both incineration and mechanical recycling, WTBW being used as aggregate replacement (2%, 5%, and 10% vol.) to create fiber-reinforced concrete. Mechanical recycling of WTBW always yielded lower results (-28.3% GWP, -5.9% ADPf), even when including larger transportation impacts in a real case in Castilla y León (-28.0% for GWP, -5.4% for ADPf), a region in Spain among the top producers of WTBW in Europe in the next 5-10 years, which is in need for a recycling strategy to follow. Lastly, four mechanical recycling plants would be needed in Castilla y León to minimize WTBW transportation impacts, thus the average environmental damage being reduced by 0.2% GWP and 0.3% ADPf per cubic meter of ready-to-cast concrete. These key findings emphasize the benefits of mechanically recycling WTBW and its potential when combined with concrete production through LCA, yielding promising results that can be implemented in different regions around the world.