{"title":"用冻融回收法分离废弃风机叶片中的纤维树脂。","authors":"Khalil Ahmed, Xu Jiang, Ghazala Ashraf, Xuhong Qiang","doi":"10.1038/s44172-025-00490-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The disposal of decommissioned wind turbine blades represents a growing economic loss and environmental concern due to the non-recovery of durable glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composites. Existing thermal and chemical recycling methods often require high temperatures and toxic chemicals, causing material degradation. Here, we present a novel freeze-thaw-based method for fiber-resin separation as an alternative. The process uses only water at human-safe temperatures, leveraging ice-induced expansion to disrupt the glass fiber-epoxy interface. Microscopic imaging and weight analysis revealed visible interface separation, with three-dimensional imaging showing a ~ 65% increase in crack volume and a ~ 32% rise in connected porosity after freeze-thaw treatment. Glass fibers retained up to 96% of their original mechanical properties, demonstrating minimal structural damage. Microplastics were easily removed through filtration, and the effluent water remained near-neutral with low organic carbon levels, meeting global water safety standards. These findings highlight freeze-thaw cycling as a sustainable route for efficient fiber-resin separation with minimal environmental impact.</p>","PeriodicalId":72644,"journal":{"name":"Communications engineering","volume":"4 1","pages":"153"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12354729/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Freeze-thaw recycling for fiber-resin separation in retired wind blades.\",\"authors\":\"Khalil Ahmed, Xu Jiang, Ghazala Ashraf, Xuhong Qiang\",\"doi\":\"10.1038/s44172-025-00490-7\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><p>The disposal of decommissioned wind turbine blades represents a growing economic loss and environmental concern due to the non-recovery of durable glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composites. Existing thermal and chemical recycling methods often require high temperatures and toxic chemicals, causing material degradation. Here, we present a novel freeze-thaw-based method for fiber-resin separation as an alternative. The process uses only water at human-safe temperatures, leveraging ice-induced expansion to disrupt the glass fiber-epoxy interface. Microscopic imaging and weight analysis revealed visible interface separation, with three-dimensional imaging showing a ~ 65% increase in crack volume and a ~ 32% rise in connected porosity after freeze-thaw treatment. Glass fibers retained up to 96% of their original mechanical properties, demonstrating minimal structural damage. Microplastics were easily removed through filtration, and the effluent water remained near-neutral with low organic carbon levels, meeting global water safety standards. These findings highlight freeze-thaw cycling as a sustainable route for efficient fiber-resin separation with minimal environmental impact.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":72644,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Communications engineering\",\"volume\":\"4 1\",\"pages\":\"153\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":0.0000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-08-14\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12354729/pdf/\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Communications engineering\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"1085\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-025-00490-7\",\"RegionNum\":0,\"RegionCategory\":null,\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"\",\"JCRName\":\"\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Communications engineering","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s44172-025-00490-7","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
Freeze-thaw recycling for fiber-resin separation in retired wind blades.
The disposal of decommissioned wind turbine blades represents a growing economic loss and environmental concern due to the non-recovery of durable glass fiber-reinforced epoxy composites. Existing thermal and chemical recycling methods often require high temperatures and toxic chemicals, causing material degradation. Here, we present a novel freeze-thaw-based method for fiber-resin separation as an alternative. The process uses only water at human-safe temperatures, leveraging ice-induced expansion to disrupt the glass fiber-epoxy interface. Microscopic imaging and weight analysis revealed visible interface separation, with three-dimensional imaging showing a ~ 65% increase in crack volume and a ~ 32% rise in connected porosity after freeze-thaw treatment. Glass fibers retained up to 96% of their original mechanical properties, demonstrating minimal structural damage. Microplastics were easily removed through filtration, and the effluent water remained near-neutral with low organic carbon levels, meeting global water safety standards. These findings highlight freeze-thaw cycling as a sustainable route for efficient fiber-resin separation with minimal environmental impact.