State-of-the-art review of product stewardship strategies for large composite wind turbine blades

Is predicted that around 42 million tonnes of composite waste from wind turbine blades will need to be recycled annually worldwide by 2050. This poses a potential environmental crisis that must be timely mitigated. Therefore, this study proposes an integrated multilevel product stewardship to address the environmental impact of wind turbine blade waste. This product stewardship integrates circular economy, cleaner production, eco design, and industry 4.0 technologies. To tailor the proposed product stewardship, a systematic literature review that extracted a total of 267 studies and industry reports was performed. A large variety of technologies were identified under seven different potential pathways that can be taken and combined to address the environmental impact of wind turbine blades. Moreover, a technology roadmap and a project strategy plan composed of 5 milestones, to be achieved by 2050, were presented envisioning the maturation and adoption of the proposed solutions.