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Recycling and renewables
News
Partnership agreement with WRS GmbH
April 2023
BigSpares and WRS GmbH have signed and agreement collboration for wind energy spare parts and services.
Partnership agreement with Carbon Rivers
Jan. 2023
BigSpares and Carbon Rivers have signed and agreement collboration for wind turbine blades recycling.
Case study
Recycling
Wind turbine blades, the cirdular economy paradigm
Composites are used in everything from wind turbine blades and automotive components to residential and commercial building materials and marine vessels. Whether post-industrial, post-consumer, or other end of life material waste streams, landfill no longer needs to be an option.
Carbon Rivers has successfully proven out an ESG upcycle glass fiber circular economy for every sources of material with rGF having far less emissions and carbon credits, and to ensure domestic availability for a rGF intermediate circular economy for manufacturing, it is critical that industries establish a material responsability for resusing the end of life materials for prepetual lifecycles.
Not only does Carbon Rivers glass fiber recovery technology have a global impact in many industries, but also significant job creation, community STEM programs, and a large buisness network are all benefited by Carbon Rivers Glass to Glass in many global communities.
What is a composite?
Plastics are inexpensive, lightweight, easily formable materials widely used for manufacturing.
However, these materials possess comparatively low mechanical properties limiting high-end applications.
A combination of polymers with performance fibers (e. g. glass, carbon) are used to enanced mechanical properties for next-generation thermoplastics and thermosets.
Process
Downsizing and transport
Tipping and cuting
Pre-sort and shred material
Multi stage pyrolysis
Materials and crude oil
Shredded glass fiber
Glass fiber pellets
Glass fiber wet-laid material
Compounded injection moulding-grade RGF-PP pellets
Syngas and crude oil
Standarization
Operations standarization
The planification of preventive maintenance operations are of extreme importance and shall be articulated with reliable wheather forecasts systems and to be executed during low wind capacity time frames.
The energetic availability mesures the availability of a wind turbine to generate power whene wind capacity is available. This metric is of extreme importante due maximizes the eletricity generation of a wind turbine.
More important then wind turbine availability “per si” is the energetic availability, due maximizes the eletricity generation.
The standarization of preventive maintenance operations are also of extreme importance thus kits of preventive maintenance, adequated tools, clear procedures and training are very important. Also maintenance contracts shall comply with the concept for flexible efficient operations, as well reliable comunications and proper organization of the operations ruled by reliable weather forecast systems.
Standarized audit inspections?
The standarization of regular inspections are also very imporant to monitorize power plants and wind turbine systems like foundations, blades, access roads, as well deforestation of transmission lines and preventive maintenance audits between others.
Inspection procedures shall be clear and registered on standarized reports prepared in coordination with manufacturers granting that mesures and inspections are properly executed with a correct and relaiable understanding of the technical condition of the audited systems.
Data shall be saved on a central platform in order to be accessed and monitored, for thus understanding evolution and predict the necessary operations.
Metrics
Refurbishement
Refurb and reuse
PV modules are dismantled due failures or low efficiency, normaly during revamping projects or warranty claims. Most part of used PV modules are repairable, and the capacity can be recovered to levels identical to the original ones, above 80% or even totaly.
The reliability of a PV module refurbishment relies on the knowlage of the failures, and the technology to repair; some failures have a high rate of recovery and others don´t. Besides, a cost efficient refurbishment relies on the know how of the technology, energy, materials and the failure mode of the modules.
This means that not all PV modules failures can be repaired, there are failure modes tant can´t be repaired due inexistent technology.
Degradation of back sheet polimers, connexion boxes or delaminations are failures that can be repaired cost efficiently meaning that most part of used modules don´t need to be recyled and shall be refurbished for reusing.
This posibility represents a big oportunity for PV plant owners, saving recycling costs having revenues saling the used modules that then are sold on secondary markets to be used on several applications as for example pumping water, irrigation, agriculture, lightning and others.
The unitary capacity price of a used PV module is 40%, or lower; of a new PV module. For secondary markets these are prices are affordable and can be suported making a big diference on the quality of life of many people representing a real oportunity of ESG.
What is a certified module?
Used PV modules certified are sorted, tested, refurbished with a final quality control to certified the nominal capacity of the module after the refurbishment.
A typical refurbishment of a used PV module consists in replacing the connection box, the refurbishment of back sheet or removing the frame for repairing delaminations.
Is only refurbed what is realy necessary, using certified and proveed materials and processes that exists and are available on the market.
The difference between used modules and waste relies in the fact that used eletronic equipments are maintaining its basic functions and the diference between a used module and a certified used module relies on the warranty of what is being sold due was tested and certified thus granting reliability.
Process
Testing and sorting
Collecting and transport
Tier sorting
Refurbishment
Control, testing and certification
Metrics
Revamping
Revamping PV plants
Revamping PV plants represents an oportunity to increase efficiency, power and ESG. While replacing used modules for new, the overhall capacity of the plant will also increase due more capacity can be installed on the same area with the same or with new structures.
The overhall cost with revamping can decrease with the selling of the used modules, structures and inverters to be refurbished, certified and reused, representing an oportunity for increasing capacity, efficiency, revenues and ESG.
As an example, revamping used modules for new on a 10MW PV Plant represents an investment of 0,21€ per Watt, a total of 2,1 Million € for the same capacity. Selling the used modules represents 210 Kilo € revenues, 10% of CAPEX with the acquisition of new modules meaning that investment with new modules decreases to 1,890 Million € while if the used modues are recycled the overhall revamping cost increses 287 Kilo €.
Used PV modules are then refurbished, certified and reused on secondary markets for different applications as for example water pumping, agri photovoltaics, irrigation, lightning.
Revamping advantages?
An opportunity to increase capacity, efficiency, revenues and ESG compliance.
Revamping used PV modules for new more efficient and with higher capacity the overhall capacity of a plant can be increased representing more generation and revenues.
Revamping can increase generation in 40% or more for the same capacity, if capacity is duplicated, the generation rises 140% with proportional revenues.
By selling used PV modules, inverters and strucutures, revamping CAPEX decrease 10%, compluing with ESG due reusing of used equipments on secondary markets.
