R3FIBER
Disruptive technology
The objective of R3FIBER is to provide a green technology capable able to recycle wind turbine blades and other composites that come to end of their serviceable lives and are becoming an emergent waste in order to obtain high quality fibres, energy and fuels.
Circular Economy
The new process will contribute to address European priorities related to circular economy, sustainable supply of raw materials and low carbon economy. The growth of wind energy production and the increasing need for renewal of wind farms make the recycling of wind turbine blades a growing problem that needs to be solved in a sustainable way.
The project started its development in 2008, having accomplished up to now the following milestones and phases: idea, concept, laboratory tests and validation in pilot plant.
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Residues
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Waste
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Contamination
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Resins
The results obtained so far are highly promising, obtaining high quality glass and carbon fibres
Lower quality fibres (MIXR3 product) could be add by 20% to commercial cement paste, increasing 110% the flexural stregth at one day after and 56% at 28 days. In addition, compressive streght increases at all ages, reaching 27% incresing compared to the control at 28 days.
The glass-ceramic materials obtained from MIXR3 have high weather resistance, zero water absorption, greater hardness than natural stone and 30% more lightness than natural stone.
R3FIBER is the only technology developed, which allows, the recovery of fibres in reinforced composites (either glass or carbon) with different kinds of resins (mainly epoxy and phenolic) in addition to combustibles.