Author
Listed:
- Bo Tan
(College of Intelligent Networking and New Energy Automobile, Geely University of China, Chengdu 641423, China
These authors contributed equally to this work.)
- Xiaotong Wang
(School of Materials Science and Engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China
These authors contributed equally to this work.)
- Zhilong Pu
(State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China)
- Shuangqiao Yang
(State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Tianfu Yongxing Laboratory, Chengdu 610065, China)
- Min Nie
(State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China)
Abstract
In recent years, wind energy has emerged as one of the fastest-growing green technologies globally, with projections indicating that decommissioned wind turbine blades (WTBs) will accumulate to millions of tons by the 2030s. Due to their thermosetting nature and high glass/carbon fiber content, the efficient recycling of WTBs remains a challenge. In this study, we utilized solid-state shear milling (S3M) to produce a fine WTB powder, which then underwent surface modification with a silane coupling agent (KH550), and we subsequently fabricated WTB-reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites with enhanced mechanical performance through solid-state stretching. The stretching-process-induced orientation of the PP molecular chains and glass fibers led to orientation-induced crystallization of PP and significant improvements in the mechanical properties of the PP/WTB@550 composites. With 30 wt. % WTB content, the PP/WTB@550 composite achieved a tensile strength of 142.61 MPa and a Young’s modulus of 3991.19 MPa at a solid-state stretching temperature of 110 °C and a stretching ratio of 3, representing increases of 268% and 471%, respectively, compared to the unstretched sample. This work offers both theoretical insights and experimental evidence supporting the high-value recycling and reuse of WTBs through a cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and scalable approach. Due to the enhanced mechanical properties of the PP/WTB composite and the intrinsic waterproofing and corrosion resistance of PP, it is hoped that such a composite would be used in road engineering and building materials, such as geogrids, wall panels, floor boards, and floor tiles.
Suggested Citation
Bo Tan & Xiaotong Wang & Zhilong Pu & Shuangqiao Yang & Min Nie, 2025.
"Fabrication of High-Strength Waste-Wind-Turbine-Blade-Powder-Reinforced Polypropylene Composite via Solid-State Stretching,"
Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-12, January.
Handle:
RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:840-:d:1572750
Download full text from publisher
Corrections
All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:840-:d:1572750. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through
the various RePEc services.