Purpose

The main goal of this work is to evaluate the environmental impact of a 63-m blade for wind generators. The embodied energy and the carbon footprint are used as supporting tools for material selection in the initial project stages.

Methods

Real industrial data regarding the most used materials for wind turbine blade construction are used. Two eco-parameters, embodied energy and carbon footprint, were calculated from each selected material together with values of manufacture, transport, use, and final disposal. The blades must be built to have a mechanical strength high enough to withstand vibrations caused by manufacturing flaws, turbulence, or irregular loading. In this sense, Young’s modulus, yield strength, and density were compared to the environmental footprint data to support the final material choice. This evaluation process of the possible materials to be used in the blade manufacture was carried out in the initial stages of the project.

Results

Composite materials such as glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) and carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP), bonded together with an adhesive material, are used to build modern wind turbine blades. Those composites comprise a considerable number of different materials that can be mixed to reach adequate performance. Comparisons were made with 46 pre-selected materials, considering the mechanical behavior and environmental impacts. The final selected materials have better properties than the reference material. Finally, two materials with the desired mechanical properties and with a potential lower negative environmental impact than the reference material were selected.

Conclusions

Replacing the reference resin—epoxy/E-glass fiber—with the epoxy resin with the lowest environmental impact—epoxy/S-glass fiber—will reduce the total value of the environmental load to 102 GJ of energy and 3.4 t of CO₂. As important as the material selection in the early stages of product development is the end of life (EoL) choice. In this case, the glass fiber has an EoL potential of 370 GJ of energy and 460 t of CO₂ in the remanufacturing option, against zero for the landfill. This work shows that carefully selected raw materials and EoL alternatives for WTB can significantly reduce the environmental impact of this component.

中文翻译：

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风力涡轮机叶片的碳足迹和内含能量—案例研究

目的

这项工作的主要目的是评估63米长的风力发电机叶片对环境的影响。在项目的初始阶段，所体现的能量和碳足迹被用作选择材料的辅助工具。

方法

使用有关用于风力涡轮机叶片构造的最常用材料的真实工业数据。从每种选定的材料以及制造，运输，使用和最终处置的值中计算出两个生态参数，即体现的能量和碳足迹。叶片必须构造成具有足够高的机械强度，以承受由制造缺陷，湍流或不规则载荷引起的振动。从这个意义上讲，将杨氏模量，屈服强度和密度与环境足迹数据进行了比较，以支持最终的材料选择。在项目的初始阶段就对叶片制造中可能使用的材料进行了评估。

结果

诸如玻璃纤维增​​强聚合物（GFRP）和碳纤维增强聚合物（CFRP）的复合材料与一种粘合材料粘合在一起，可用于制造现代风力涡轮机叶片。这些复合材料包含大量不同的材料，可以将它们混合以达到足够的性能。考虑到机械性能和环境影响，对46种预选材料进行了比较。最终选择的材料具有比参考材料更好的性能。最后，选择了两种材料，它们具有所需的机械性能，并且潜在的负面环境影响比参考材料低。

结论

用对环境影响最小的环氧树脂（环氧树脂/ S玻璃纤维）代替参考树脂（环氧树脂/ E玻璃纤维）将使环境负荷的总值降低到102 GJ能量和3.4 t CO ₂。与产品开发初期的材料选择一样重要的是寿命终止（EoL）选择。在这种情况下，在再制造方案中，玻璃纤维的EoL势能为370 GJ，能量为460 t CO ₂，而垃圾填埋场则为零。这项工作表明，精心选择的WTB原材料和EoL替代品可以显着减少该组件对环境的影响。