CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 62/714,460, filed August 3, 2018, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates to the compositions and new products comprising polymers and recycled composite materials, such as fiberglass and other glass fiber- and carbon- fiber reinforced materials, and methods of making the compositions.

BACKGROUND

Wind energy, and more specifically the use of wind turbines to generate electricity, is an exploding market. There are many companies producing blades for this growing number of turbines, and these blades need to be periodically replaced if they wear out or become damaged. This generates a problem for blade manufacturers, utilities, and other entities that may wish to keep decommissioned blades out of landfills. Although the prospect of recycling wind turbine blades may be attractive and consistent with the notion of wind energy as a "green" power source, it has not previously been technically or economically feasible. Despite previous efforts, experts have regarded wind turbine blades as "unrecyclable" and a problematic source of waste. See Liu et ah, "Wind Turbine Blade Waste in 2050," Waste Management, Vol. 62, pp. 229-240 (April 2017). With the growing importance of wind power in worldwide energy production, this problem will only get worse.

Wind turbine blades and other materials comprising fiberglass and other fiber- reinforced materials have long been difficult to recycle into new and useful products. Despite the ongoing recycling efforts, in many cases, large-scale items such as composite windmill turbine blades are simply buried in landfills or burned.

There are many reasons for the interest in maximizing the use of reclaimed fiber- reinforced products. While reclaimed fiberglass offers a way to reduce manufacturing costs, environmental concerns are also motivating manufacturers to reuse or recycle fiber- reinforced products. Consumers are showing a preference for environmentally aware manufacturers, and the federal and state governments are investigating the mandating of a timetable to eliminate fiberglass from the waste stream or mandating the use of recycled composite materials in finished goods.

A need exists for methods to recycle the no-longer serviceable wind turbine blades and other fiberglass-containing composite objects into materials that can be used in manufacturing of products that can be further recycled.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

In one aspect, the disclosure provides a composition comprising recycled composite material and one or more polymers.

In some embodiments, the recycled composite material is fiberglass-reinforced composite material, for example, crushed recycled or decommissioned wind turbine blades.

In some embodiments, the recycled composite material comprises recycled wind turbine blade fibers or powder. In certain embodiments, the recycled wind turbine blade fibers have a length of about 0.25 mm to about 12 mm. In some embodiments, the wind turbine blade powder comprises particles with a maximum dimension of about 0.4 mm to about 3 mm.

In some embodiments, the one or more polymers is high density polyethylene (HDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), or a combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the composition is made by extrusion of a mixture of one or more polymers and recycled composite material particles.

In some embodiments, the composition comprises recycled composite material in the amount of about 5% to about 90% of the composition by weight. In certain embodiments, the composition comprises one or more polymers in the amount of about 5% and about 60% of the composition by weight. In some embodiments, the composition comprises about 50 % of HDPE and about 50 % of recycled composite material powder by weight.

In another aspect, the disclosure provides composite building material comprising the compositions of the disclosure, such as panel or boards. In certain embodiments, the building material comprises recycled composite material, polymer resin, water, and a release agent. In some embodiments, the building material is prepared from the composition of Claim 1 comprising about 89 wt% of recycled composite material, about 6 wt% of polymer resin, about 4 wt% of water, and about 1 wt% of a release agent. In certain embodiments, the building material is a panel with a thickness of about 0.5 cm to about 4 cm.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGETRE 1 depicts a decommissioned wind turbine blade being moved to a recycling facility.

FIGETRE 2 is a schematic of wind turbine blade recycling: metal parts are removed and recycled, and the remaining composite body comprising fiberglass composite is processed into recycled composite particles and fibers. In this manner, up to 99% of the blade can be recycled.

FIGETRE 3 is a photograph of pelleted exemplary composition comprising HDPE and powdered recycled wind turbine material.

FIGETRE 4 is a graph comparing structural properties (modulus of rupture (MOR) and the modulus of elasticity (MOE)) of an exemplary composite panel and OSB/structural and particle/MDF structural panels. In this example, the exemplary panel comprises about 89 wt% of a recycled composite material (e.g., fibers), about 6 wt% of polymer resin, about 4 wt% of water, and about 1 wt% of a release agent.

FIGETRE 5 is a graph comparing moisture influence properties (water absorption and thickness swell) of an exemplary composite panel and OSB/structural and particle/MDF structural panels. In this example, the exemplary panel comprises about 89 wt% of a recycled composite material (e.g., fibers), about 6 wt% of polymer resin, about 4 wt% of water, and about 1 wt% of a release agent.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In one aspect, disclosed herein are compositions comprising one or more polymers and a recycled composite material, such as particles formed from a reclaimed (or recycled) composite material. The compositions of the present disclosure possess certain advantageous properties such as superior moisture resistance and fire resistance compared to the individual components combined to form the compositions.

In some embodiments, the compositions comprise recycled composite material which comprises fiberglass fibers or carbon fibers. For example, in certain embodiments, the composite material is a fiberglass fiber-reinforced material or carbon-fiber-reinforced material. Any suitable composite material can be included in the compositions disclosed herein. Any pre-existing composite products or raw materials that are waste, surplus, or damaged beyond usefulness can be included in the compositions disclosed herein. Non limiting examples of sources of such materials include cured or uncured scrap and rovings from fiberglass and fiber-reinforced plastic manufacturers and product manufacturers, boat hulls and other marine equipment, composite turbine blades, including windmill blades, and aircraft parts. In many cases, the input materials are fiber- reinforced materials formed from polyester and styrene resin. Non-limiting examples of fiber materials include fiberglass, graphite, carbon, nylon, and KEVLAR™ and other synthetic fibers. As used herein, "recycled composite material particles" and "recycled composite material fibers" refer to particles and fibers, respectively, prepared from a variety of such composite materials which comprises fiberglass fibers or carbon fibers.

In some embodiments, the recycled composite material particles are particles formed from recycled composite turbine blades, including wind turbine blades. Wind turbine blades are typically made of composite fiberglass materials such as fiber- reinforced epoxy or unsaturated polyester. The blades are typically composed of about 70% to about 75% fiberglass by weight and must meet very strict mechanical requirements such as high rigidity and resistance to torsion and fatigue. A standard 35- to 40-meter blade for a 1.5-MW turbine can weigh 6 to 7 tons. Both epoxy and polyester, and to a lesser extent vinyl ester, have been used in the manufacturing of wind turbine blades. Epoxy is generally preferred because it offers stronger mechanical performance for blades longer than 26 m (85 ft). In certain embodiments, in addition to fiberglass, the recycled composite material used to prepare recycled composite material particles can comprise other components, such as wood or polymeric resins. For example, in some embodiments, wind turbine blades can comprise, in addition to fiberglass and resin composite, balsa wood and foam.

Thus, in some embodiments, the recycled composite material particles or fibers comprise up to about 85% fiberglass by weight. In some embodiments, the recycled composite material particles comprise between about 40% and about 90% fiberglass, between about 50% and about 90% fiberglass, between about 50% and about 75% fiberglass, between about 60% and about 90% fiberglass, or between about 70% and about 90% fiberglass.

The recycled composite material used to form the compositions disclosed herein, e.g., decommissioned wind turbine blades or recreational vehicle (RV) or other vehicle panels, can be broken down into particles by any suitable method, including, as non limiting examples, shredding, crushing, chopping, cutting, ripping, tearing, pounding, grinding or otherwise degrading a composite material to form small pieces of composite material. The small pieces of composite material may then be ground to form smaller particles of composite material. In some embodiments, the particles of recycled composite material are produced according to the methods as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,028,731, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth.

In some embodiments, the particles are separated into size fractions, e.g., by passing through one or more screens or filters. In some embodiments, the particles comprise fibers formed from recycled wind turbine blades which are retained by a 40 mesh screen. In some embodiments, the particles comprise fibers having a length of about 0.25 mm to about 12 mm. In certain embodiments, the particles have a length of about 0.5 mm to about 12 mm, about 1 mm to about 12 mm, or about 2 mm to about 12 mm.

In other embodiments, the composite material particles are fine particles with a maximum dimension of about 0.4 mm to about 3 mm. In certain embodiments, the particles have a maximum dimension of about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm, about 0.2 mm to about 3 mm, about 1 mm to about 5 mm, or about 1 mm to about 3 mm. In other embodiments, the particles comprise both fibers and fine particles as described above.

In some embodiments, the particles of recycled composite material are combined with one or more polymers to form the compositions disclosed herein. In some embodiments, the polymers of the compositions disclosed herein are polyester polymers or ethylenic backbone polymers. Exemplary polymers include high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In some embodiments, the polymer is HDPE.

In some embodiments, a composition of the disclosure comprises one or more polymers and particles of recycled composite material. In some embodiments, the particles of recycled composite material form no more than about 50% by weight of the composition. In other embodiments, the particles form about 90%, about 80%, about 70%, about 60%, about 55%, about 50%, about 45%, about 40%, about 30%, about 25%, about 20%, about 15%, about 10%, or about 5% by weight of the composition. Alternatively, in some cases the polymer comprises about 60%, about 55%, about 50%, about 45%, about 40%, about 30%, about 25%, about 20%, about 15%, about 10%, or about 5% of the weight of the composition. In some embodiments, the composition comprises about 50% of polymer such as HDPE and about 50% of particles of recycled composite material, such as recycled wind turbine blades, by weight. In some embodiments, the compositions comprise up to 90% of recycled composite material particles. In certain embodiments, the compositions comprise about 70% to about 90% of recycled composite material such as particles and/or fibers described above.

In some embodiments, the compositions disclosed herein are formed by extrusion. Any suitable extrusion method can be used to form the compositions of the disclosure. In some embodiments, the compositions are extruded into pellets. In some embodiments, a Milacron extruder is used in order to produce the pellets of the compositions disclosed herein. In certain embodiments, the pellets of the compositions disclosed herein are produced using ECON pelletizing machines. In some embodiments, compounding extrusion is used to produce the compositions disclosed herein. Compounding extrusion is a process that mixes one or more polymers with additives, such as powdered recycled composite materials, to give plastic compounds, i.e., compositions of the invention. The feeds in compounding extrusion can be in the form of pellets, powder, and/or liquids, and the product is usually in pellet form, to be used in other plastic-forming processes such as extrusion and injection molding. For example, the composition can be in the form of pellets, as shown in FIGETRE 3. Any suitable extruder can be used to produce the compositions disclosed herein.

In some embodiments, the compositions disclosed herein include additional components. Non-limiting examples of such components include binders, fillers, resins, catalysts, reinforcements, and strengthening agents. Additional non-limiting examples of components include aggregate solid particulates, aggregate rock, gravel, sand, wood, textiles, pipes, rods, bars, fibers, metals, honeycombs, spacers, fillers, resin, recycled resin, plastic resin, catalysts, recycled polymers, paper fibers, binders, cement, magnesium oxide, water, cement, limestone, granite, chemical additives, and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, an additional component is mixed into the polymer-particle mixture. In other embodiments, a component is disposed or placed into the form, mold, cast or the like prior to the addition of the mixture. In yet other embodiments, the component is disposed or placed into the form, mold, cast or the like after the addition of the mixture.

The compositions disclosed herein can be used to produce new composite products that, unlike the starting recycled composite materials used to make the compositions, can be recycled over again and easily turned into other products.

In a second aspect, the disclosure provides composite products comprising compositions of the disclosure, for example, composite building materials such as siding panels or decking boards. In some embodiments, composite products comprising compositions of the disclosure include flooring, siding, partitions, countertops, facade materials, case goods, containers, and pallets. In certain embodiments, the composite products comprising compositions of the disclosure (e.g., composite building materials) comprise recycled wind turbine blade fibers or particles such as those described above. In certain embodiments, the fibers have a length of about 0.25 mm to about 12 mm. In some embodiments, the composite products of the disclosure comprise recycled wind turbine blade particles and particles prepared from another type of recycled composite material, such as RV panels.

Typically, the composite building materials comprise recycled composite material (e.g., fibers, fine particles, and/or powder), polymer resin, water, and a release agent. In some embodiments, the building material is prepared from a composition comprising about 80 wt% to about 90 wt% of a recycled composite material (e.g., fibers), about 5 wt% to about 10 wt% of polymer resin, about 3 wt% to about 5 wt% of water, and about 0 wt% to about 1.5 wt% of a release agent. In certain embodiments, the building material is prepared from a composition comprising about 89 wt% of a recycled composite material (e.g., fibers), about 6% of polymer resin, about 4 wt% of water, and about 1 wt% of a release agent. Colorants and other components can be included in the compositions used to make the building materials of the disclosure. In certain embodiments, the building materials can be painted.

Any suitable release agent can be used in the preparation of the building material of the disclosure. Application to or inclusion of a release agent in the composition can provide a barrier between the molding surface and substrate, facilitating separation of the cured part, such as a board, from the mold, preventing the substrate from becoming fused to the mold surface. Non-limiting examples of release agents include PVA (polyvinyl alcohol), PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), and reactive polysiloxanes.

In some embodiments, the building material is in the form of panels with a smooth or textured surface and a typical thickness in the range of about 0.3 cm to about 5 cm, about 0.5 cm to about 3 cm, or about 0.5 cm to about 2.5 cm. Thickness of the panel can be tailored to a particular application by those of skill in the art. In certain embodiments, the panels have a density of about 800 kg/m ³ to about 1100 kg/m ³ . Panels comprising the compositions of the disclosure can be of any suitable for a given application size. In one embodiment, the panels are produced from a masterboard (e.g., a masterboard having dimensions of about 6 feet by about 36 feet). In certain embodiments, the building material is a decking board or tile.

The building materials of the disclosure, such as composite panels, surprisingly have certain advantageous properties, such as moisture resistance, termite resistance, strength and other mechanical properties. FIGURES 4 and 5 demonstrate that an exemplary panel of the disclosure has properties superior to common wood-based building products such as MDF particleboard and OSB structural paneling. As shown in FIGURE 5, an exemplary panel comprising about 89% of recycled composite material fibers has significantly lower water sorption properties while maintaining the mechanical properties (FIGURE 4).

The present disclosure may reference quantities and numbers. Unless specifically stated, such quantities and numbers are not to be considered restrictive, but exemplary of the possible quantities or numbers associated with the present application. Also in this regard, the present application may use the term "plurality" to reference a quantity or number.

Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities or conditions are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term "about," meaning within 10% of the indicated number (e.g. "about 10%" means 9% - 11% and "about 2%" means 1.8% - 2.2%). All percentages and ratios are calculated by weight unless otherwise indicated. All percentages are calculated based on the total composition unless otherwise indicated.

All publications and patent applications cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference, and for any and all purposes, as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

While illustrative embodiments have been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.