Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of tidal stream turbine blades (article)
dc.contributor.author | Walker, SRJ | |
dc.contributor.author | Thies, PR | |
dc.contributor.author | Johanning, L | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2023-01-03T13:07:37Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2022-12-19 | |
dc.date.updated | 2023-01-03T09:22:35Z | |
dc.description.abstract | Renewable energy allows electricity generation with lower environmental and resource impact than generation from fossil fuels. However, the manufacture, use and ultimate disposal of the equipment used to capture this energy has an environmental impact, which should be minimised. Tidal turbine blades are currently primarily manufactured from glass-fibre reinforced polymers. Such blades cannot be recycled at the end of their life, and are disposed of in landfill or by incineration. As the tidal energy industry grows, the volume of non-recyclable waste is a potential problem. Here we consider the environmental impact of ten combinations of material and disposal method for tidal stream turbine blades, including recyclable options. Our findings suggest that glass fibre blades have greenhouse gas emissions of around 15,500 kgCO2e for the scope considered, and a significant environmental impact in all impact categories, which would be increased by changing to carbon fibre (99% mean increase from glass fibre across impact categories) or steel (134% mean increase from glass fibre across impact categories) blades, but that composite materials using flax fibre and recyclable resin may have lower impact (26% mean decrease from glass fibre across impact categories), provided they are treated correctly after use. These materials may also offer the potential for lower cost blades in future. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) | en_GB |
dc.format.extent | 249-256 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Vol. 5(3), pp. 249-256 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.36688/imej.5.249-256 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/132125 | |
dc.identifier | ORCID: 0000-0001-9790-2681 (Walker, Stuart Robert John) | |
dc.identifier | ORCID: 0000-0003-3431-8423 (Thies, Philipp R) | |
dc.identifier | ScopusID: 55134959500 (Thies, Philipp R) | |
dc.identifier | ResearcherID: H-2490-2011 (Thies, Philipp R) | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | European Wave and Tidal Energy Conference (EWTEC) | en_GB |
dc.relation.url | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/126492 | |
dc.rights | © 2022 Stuart Robert John Walker, Philipp R Thies, Lars Johanning. Open access. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Unrestricted use (including commercial), distribution and reproduction is permitted provided that credit is given to the original author(s) of the work, including a URI or hyperlink to the work, this public license and a copyright notice. | en_GB |
dc.subject | Tidal turbine blades | en_GB |
dc.subject | Life cycle assessment | en_GB |
dc.subject | Carbon footprint | en_GB |
dc.subject | Environmental impact assessment | en_GB |
dc.title | Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of tidal stream turbine blades (article) | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2023-01-03T13:07:37Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 2631-5548 | |
dc.description | This is the final version. Available from EWTEC via the DOI in this record | en_GB |
dc.description | The conference paper version of this article is available in ORE at http://hdl.handle.net/10871/126492 | |
dc.identifier.eissn | 2631-5548 | |
dc.identifier.journal | International Marine Energy Journal | en_GB |
dc.relation.ispartof | International Marine Energy Journal, 5(3) | |
dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2022 | |
rioxxterms.version | VoR | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2022-12-19 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2023-01-03T13:05:18Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | VoR | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2023-01-03T13:07:41Z | |
refterms.panel | B | en_GB |
refterms.dateFirstOnline | 2022-12-19 |
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as © 2022 Stuart Robert John Walker, Philipp R Thies, Lars Johanning. Open access.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Unrestricted use (including commercial), distribution and reproduction is permitted provided that credit is given to the original author(s) of the work, including a URI or hyperlink to the work, this public license and a copyright notice.