Sustainable concrete with wind turbine blade waste

A research group at the University of Burgos has developed a procedure for the production of concrete from wind turbine blade waste. The concrete object of the invention not only has good performance both in fresh and hardened state, but also represents a viable solution for recycling wind turbine blades, thus contributing to the circular economy and positioning itself as an alternative to traditional concrete. In Spain, it is estimated that by 2030 around 40% of wind turbines will have to be renovated. In view of this situation, the need to seek methods for recycling them has become evident. In the literature, there are few options for the use of this residue, and the vast majority go through the separation of part of its components (glass and carbon fibres, polymeric resins, polyurethane foam, balsa wood and polyester resins) by pyrolysis, solvolysis or gasification processes. The procedure described by researchers from the University of Burgos has allowed the production of sustainable concrete using the crushed waste of wind turbine blades without having previously separated the different components, which allows saving both time and money, and in turn reducing the carbon footprint.