Wind turbine components can already be largely recycled, but composite rotor blades were still a challenge. Recycling hardly seemed an option, until now. The Decom North consortium, which consists of companies, educational institutions and other organisations in the north of the Netherlands, is going to make recycling possible.
The participating companies will dismantle discarded wind turbines and transport the rotor blades to the recycling factory in or near Eemshaven, where the blades are broken down into granules. These become the raw material for new products, such as bank revetments, moulds, bridges, crane mats and much more.
Pilot plant
In a future pilot plant near the terminal, the raw materials will replace other materials such as hardwood and thus benefiting both the environment and the climate. Until then, the consortium will supply the rotor blades to Neocomp (Bremen, Germany), which makes cement from the recovered fibreglass and synthetic resin. A “one stop shop” system for the disposal of discarded rotor blades is already operational. The flows from land and sea will soon come together in Eemshaven, where rotor blades can also be repaired.
The consortium consists of Buss Terminal, Mammoet, Lubbers Transport, DHSS Eemshaven, Bek & Verburg, Nehlsen metal recycling, CRC Industries, SCS Logistics/Shipco Transport and Nedcam Solutions. Chemport Europe is involved in the business plan and has provided various parties for the value chain. HorYzon and Windesheim University of Applied Sciences prepared the business case in close collaboration with Chemport Europe, Groningen Seaports, and OWIC.
For more information, visit the Groningen Seaports website.
