Fiber-reinforced composite materials, due to their good mechanical performance, high fiber strength, high modulus, and good corrosion resistance, have greater challenges in terms of disposal and recycling. According to variety of composites, the chemical crosslinking bondings of thermosetting composites become strong and irreversible after forming process, which led to a long-term environmental problem of waste disposal at the end of the life cylcle of composites. Currently, the main ways for wind turbine blade wastes involve landfill and piling up. However, due to the limited space in Taiwan, it is certainly sure that the large amount of waste blades will become a serious environmental issue in the near future.This project aims to develop and optimize low-carbon-resource recycling technologies for glass fiber composite wastes. First of all is to establish a collaborative process with the cement industry to develop a cement kiln co-processing technique, and we also plans to conduct a pilot-scale operation in a cement plant in order to examine a practical feasibility. Secondly, a low-carbon chemical depolymerization and recovery technique for wind turbine blade wastes is developed to expand another disposal pathway for waste blades. By green chemical depolymerization formulas, it is aimed to recover a significant portion of the long fibers and resin from the blade wastes at low temperatures (<100°C), while preserving the mechanical properties of the original fibers. Additionally, the developed green chemical depolymerization agents can be repurified and reused without causing environmental pollution. The recovered long fibers possess high potential to replace ner fibers or to be used as raw materials for high-value products, which have a new chance to be employed in the composite industry. By actively involving the industry in the early stages of technology development, one of the aims of this project is to expedite the development and validation of recovered products, achieving high-value utilization of the recovered materials.

Waste Resources Circulation, Glass Fiber Reinforced Composites, Green Chemical Depolymerization Recycling