Recycling and recovery infrastructures for glass and carbon fiber reinforced plastic waste from wind energy industry: A European case study

Establishing recycling and recovery infrastructures for innovative materials like high-performance composites is very challenging. For such materials, recycling and recovery infrastructures are not yet established, research on end-of-life treatment technologies is still in the development state, and secondary markets for recycled materials are still missing. Against this background, we provide an ex-ante analysis on the design of future cost-minimal recycling and recovery infrastructures for glass (GFRP) and carbon (CFRP) fiber reinforced plastic waste from rotor blades of wind power plants based on a mathematical optimization model. We present insights into future capacities and technologies for the recycling and recovery infrastructures within the EU-28. We systematically analyze the impacts of political regulations and of secondary markets on the design of these infrastructures. While future recycling of CFRP mainly depends on the development of secondary markets independent of political regulations, GFRP is mainly combusted in incineration plants or co-processed in cement clinker plants. Hence, political decision makers should focus on providing measures that support the development of secondary markets for recycled carbon fibers and provide incentives for co-processing of GFRP to overcome capacity limitations. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Establishing recycling and recovery infrastructures for innovative materials like high-performance composites is challenging, with the need for development of secondary markets and incentives for co-processing. Future recycling of CFRP depends on secondary markets, while GFRP is mainly combusted or co-processed. Political decision makers should focus on supporting the development of secondary markets and providing incentives for co-processing to overcome capacity limitations.