POWER May 2022 Intl - 22

RECYCLING
There's Value in Old Power
Generation Components
Equipment from both renewable and thermal energy power plants is finding new
life in the recycling market.
Darrell Proctor
he market for recycled power equipment
components is getting a boost
due to ongoing global supply chain
issues, particularly for those in the renewable
energy sector. The so-called " circular "
supply chain, in which materials are
recycled and reused in the same product,
provides a solution for companies finding
it difficult to source raw materials.
The U.S. Environmental Protection
T
Agency has said waste " from end-of-life
solar panels presents opportunities to recover
valuable materials and create jobs
through recycling, " and forecasts that by
2030, " the cumulative value of recoverable
raw materials from end-of-life panels
globally will be about $450 million,
which is equivalent to the cost of raw
materials currently needed to produce
about 60 million new panels. Diverting
solar panels from landfills to recycling
saves space in landfills in addition to capturing
the value of the raw materials. "
Several materials can be recycled
from solar power technology, including
aluminum, copper, glass, and plastics.
It's much the same for wind power;
according to ENGIE, the French multinational
utility, the components in
wind turbines " are essentially 100%
recyclable. Their different parts are dismantled,
sorted and then sent through
specialized recovery channels.
The
concrete used for their foundations is
reused on other sites [Figure 1], steel
and aluminum are sent to foundries or
steelworks, and fiberglass from turbine
blades is reused for other products,
such as fire hydrants. "
Components from thermal power
plants can be recycled as well. Globe
Metal, a Canadian company, is among
those recycling materials from gas turbines,
including various metals. The
group notes that " nickel-based alloys,
cobalt-based
alloys,
iron-based
alloys,
various superalloys [tungsten, molybdenum,
niobium, tantalum, etc.], titanium,
aluminum, Inconels, stainless steel alloys, "
and more can be recycled from
end-of-life gas turbines.
22
1. This bike shelter in Denmark is made from part of a recycled wind turbine blade. The Danish
government has said 90% of the country's residents own a bicycle, with cycling engrained in
the Danish culture. Courtesy: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy
" The electricity-generating components
of power plants, such as the turbines and
generators, may be transferred to other
power plants or sold as scrap metal, " Dan
Scholz, principal in the Energy & Utilities
practice at Arthur D. Little, an international
management consulting firm, told POWER.
He noted, though, that " these components
are not generally recycled on a
large scale. "
Something that is widely recycled
from thermal power generation is fly
ash, a byproduct from burning
coal.
Known as coal combustion residuals, or
CCR, within the industry, ash has been
reused for years in construction, as an ingredient
in drywall (wallboard), concrete,
roofing materials, cinder blocks (Figure
2), and more.
Recycling Spent Nuclear Fuel
The U.S. continues to research the use
of spent nuclear fuel to power advanced
reactors, but the use of recycled nuclear
fuel has been prohibited in the U.S. since
1977. Other countries, though, do reuse
nuclear fuel, as the previously used fuel
generally retains about 95% of its original
uranium. France has used recycled
nuclear fuel in its reactors for decades.
" Though not yet profitable, the spent
fuel recycling yields promise, " said
Scholz. " The Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory's new spent fuel recycling
techniques rely on spinning a chemical
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slurry of spent uranium through a powerintense
centrifuge. Different chemicals
are mixed in, centrifuged, or subtracted
into the mixture throughout the process.
In addition, techniques for powering
reactors with spent fuel are being
researched by companies including TerraPower,
which is funded by [Microsoft
founder] Bill Gates. "
As energy storage becomes more
commonplace, the recycling of batteries
and their materials also is a topic of
discussion, particularly around the challenges
of dealing with materials often
classified as hazardous waste.
" One of the biggest challenges for
getting
involved in the recycling
of
power generation equipment is that
the manufacturers [continually] innovate
the design and composition
of their power generation equipment
to reduce cost, expand capacity, and
improve reliability, " said Peter Wright,
a partner at Barnes & Thornburg, a
Washington, D.C.-based law firm. " It
is challenging for recyclers to adjust to
make the investments, and build and
install the equipment needed to keep
pace with these changes. " He said
that along with innovation in power
generation and energy storage technology,
" There also needs to be innovation
and improvement in the ability
to recycle " the " valuable materials " in
that technology.
POWER | May 2022

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