The first General Assembly of the HORIZON project (Proposal: ID 101096858 – REFRESH -CL5-2022-D3-01-02) takes place on 27 and 28 June at the MTB RECYCLING plants in Trept (France); intelligent dismantling, sorting and recycling of glass fiber reinforced composites from the wind energy sector through a holistic approach.
Launched in Genoa last 19 January by lead partner RINA CONSULTING SPA, REFRESH aims to develop and demonstrate a new circular system for better recycling (>90%) of fiber reinforced composites derived from the dismantling or reblading of wind turbines, with a high level of purity. The project will focus on the mechanical and thermal treatment of waste, but will strongly involve the entire value chain: from end-of-life wind turbines to a wide range of regenerated products.
REFRESH offers a flexible regeneration line: when a wind turbine is decommissioned, a selection of materials is carried out based on the wind generator model and market demand; this will be achieved using a tracking tool for the collection, sharing of information and integrated software for the decision-making process that selects the most sustainable approach to recycling from time to time.
The project will focus on the most proven mechanical treatments, in which composites are ground to various sizes and used as a new raw material to create multifunctional panels, for automotive, marine, home furniture, civil construction applications. With the GEES Recycling project, it implements a large-scale process, starting from its already available regeneration line (Aviano, Italy).
Another proven process is thermal technology, proposed here by Gjenkraft, which also allows the recovery of long and “clean” fibers, without matrix, with properties comparable to those of virgin fibres. The holistic approach developed within the project will be validated by LCA/LCC/health-safety analyses. The new REFRESH approach will allow a potential saving of virgin raw materials of 22 and 52 Mton respectively after 5 and 8 years from the end of the project.
