From wind farms to concrete: Old turbine blades could cut rebar emissions by 90%

A wind turbine typically has a service life of around 20–30 years. However, its blades do not always remain in operation for that entire period. Damage can force an earlier replacement, while technological advances can encourage operators to swap older equipment for newer designs. One useful material recovered from turbine blades is silica. It can substitute for sand and clay used in cement production, reducing the need for those raw materials.

Blade recycling can also supply fibers for concrete. A study published in 2024 concluded that fibers recovered from wind turbine blades can strengthen the material, giving discarded components a role beyond supplying cement ingredients. Another approach uses cut-up blade sections as an alternative to steel reinforcement. Rebar, the steel rods placed inside concrete, helps improve its durability.

Replacing it with blade pieces offers a separate route for reusing material that would otherwise be difficult to dispose of. These applications address different parts of construction. Recovered silica contributes to cement manufacture, while fibers and blade sections serve as reinforcement in concrete. Parts of discarded turbine blades can replace coal as kiln fuel. The supplied source reports an approximately 27% reduction in concrete production emissions through this approach. Using blade pieces instead of rebar can reduce emissions associated with the reinforcement stage by around 90%. That figure applies to that stage, rather than the entire concrete production process.

Source: Interesting Engineering