The world's growing dependence on wind energy has spurred demand for wind turbines and the giant blades that power them. However, due to the shortage of balsa wood and the soaring cost, it has been difficult to meet these market demands. Balsa is a strong, lightweight wood sandwiched between GFRP to create wind blades. At least one blade manufacturer has been using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyvinyl chloride foam (PVC) foam at the blade tips, but it still requires balsa wood to provide shear for the base of the blade. Cutting modulus.
Over the next two years, Canada-based company INCA Renewtech will offer an alternative - a sustainable biocomposite that can replace balsa wood anywhere on the blade.
According to the company, this INCA BioBalsa™ made from hemp fiber has a density comparable to balsa wood (10 pounds per cubic foot) and, due to its randomly placed fibers, its compressive strength is even higher than Wood is better. INCA says BioBalsa is more cost-competitive and sustainable than balsa wood and foam, and unlike balsa wood, BioBalsa can provide both moisture and fire resistance.
Sustainable Hemp Fiber Solutions
BioBalsa’s hemp comes from the Canadian prairies, where farmers have been growing the plant as a source of protein for 20 years. "The tall stems of the hemp plant contain some of the strongest fibers on Earth but are underutilized except for use as bedding for horses," said David Saltman, Chairman and CEO of INCA Renewtech. and soil remediation. We realized that if we could process and refine hemp to create a textile-grade material that was approximately 99 percent pure fiber, we could build our own composites out of that waste material at low cost. Get higher value from your raw materials”
INCA. Renewtech has developed applications for every part of the cannabis plant. BioBalsa is made from short fibers, the woody part of the stalk, which serves as a reinforcement replacing fiberglass . The company is conducting full-scale production line trials of composite prepregs for Toyota. It is also trialling an plywood alternative called BioPanels™ for Genesis Products, which is made from the long fibers of hemp.
Sustainable manufacturing is key to the company’s business model, and this approach is demonstrated in the manufacturing of BioBalsa. A life cycle assessment from GreenStep Solutions found that BioBalsa can sequester 260 kilograms of carbon dioxide per cubic meter.
Camille Saltman, chief marketing and sales officer at INCA Renewtech, said: “Not only is there carbon sequestration during the growing season, but if you put the product into a wind turbine blade — it has a lifespan of 20 years or so. longer – meaning the carbon continues to be sequestered.” The company has also developed technology that enables the deconstruction and material recovery of decommissioned blades.
Compared to the cutting and milling of balsa wood, BioBalsa's production reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 107% and generates 93% less waste. It produces 164% less carbon emissions than PET, produces 99.56% less waste than foam production, and uses 93% less water.
BioBalsa for wind turbine blades 2
Gurit, a supplier of advanced composite materials working with the wind energy industry, was attracted to INCA Renewtech’s sustainable BioBalsa project.
Over the past few months, INCA Renewtech has been working on designing the BioBalsa to Gurit's specifications.
“We have the ability to formulate products to meet very specific market needs,” explains Chief Technology Officer Garry Balthes. “We sent Gurit an initial product that was very similar to balsa wood and they Having tested it and provided data on where we need to go, we will then focus on tweaking the recipe so that BioBalsa's performance meets the exact requirements of any part of the wind blade.
Nauer noted that BioBalsa’s specific characteristics, including density and the material’s resin absorption rate, will determine which parts of a wind blade it is best suited for and compete with other materials. As BioBals A characteristic of natural fibers, the percentage of resin in the material is relatively low
"Trees and plants in general generally have natural lignans that hold them together, so we can actually capture and utilize the wood. Lipins act as binders. Balthes said, "The resin will not exceed 30%, whether it is liquid resin, dry resin, photoresist base or mixed base. We may further reduce this ratio in the future. ”
IPCO has already cooperated with INCA Renewtech Company AB, which will design and manufacture the BioBalsa production equipment, will use a Teflon™ dual-belt press to cure the material, heat it and apply balanced surface pressure to meet the required calibration, material thickness and density. Then the IPCO device will cool down. is a continuous processing machine capable of producing extended lengths of BioBalsa material that the wind blade industry may require.
Large-scale production of BioBalsa for wind blades will begin at the factory in early 2024. Renewtech and Gurit will test prototype BioBalsa blades through independent laboratories to gain broad market acceptance of the new biocomposite.
Saltman is optimistic about the future but recognizes that hurdles remain, not only in terms of performance. , The price is competitive, and large-scale production must be achieved. ” He admits that it will be difficult to accomplish all of this in less than two years.
If their efforts are successful, BioBalsa will soon become an integral part of the wind energy industry. (Excerpted from compositesmanufacturingmagazine)
Article Source: Ringier Composite Technology
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