IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v258y2026ics0960148125026515.html

Effect of activated carbon assisted microwave pyrolysis parameters on phenol-rich oil from decommissioned wind turbine blades

Author

Listed:
  • Song, Jie
  • Liu, Shanjian
  • Yang, Chunzhen
  • Yao, Jingang
  • Song, Xiaoyu
  • Qian, Qingqing

Abstract

In this study, a novel activated carbon-assisted microwave pyrolysis method was developed to recover both resin and glass fibers from end-of-life wind turbine blades. An orthogonal experimental design was used to assess the effects of temperature, microwave power, and activated carbon ratio on the phenolic content of the pyrolysis oil. Microwave heating significantly promoted phenol production, with the phenolic content reaching up to 83.5%, and phenol along with isopropyl-substituted phenols showing the highest selectivity, while alcohols decreased. The mass ratio of activated carbon to epoxy resin was identified as the most influential factor, followed by microwave power and temperature. Competitive and synergistic interactions between the gas and liquid phases were observed, where moderate suppression of deoxygenation reactions favored phenol preservation and enrichment. Additionally, the recovered glass fibers treated by oxidation showed a 17.1% higher tensile strength than those treated by swelling. Based on the analysis of product evolution, a mechanism for the activated carbon-assisted microwave pyrolysis of epoxy resin was proposed.

Suggested Citation

  • Song, Jie & Liu, Shanjian & Yang, Chunzhen & Yao, Jingang & Song, Xiaoyu & Qian, Qingqing, 2026. "Effect of activated carbon assisted microwave pyrolysis parameters on phenol-rich oil from decommissioned wind turbine blades," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:258:y:2026:i:c:s0960148125026515
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.124987
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148125026515
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2025.124987?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Chunxiang & Fan, Dianzhao & Zhao, Jian & Qi, Qianhao & Huang, Xiaodong & Zeng, Tianyang & Bi, Yingxin, 2022. "Study on microwave-assisted co-pyrolysis and bio-oil of Chlorella vulgaris with high-density polyethylene under activated carbon," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    2. Liu, Shanjian & Zhang, Guanshuai & Bi, Dongmei & Ni, Yu & Song, Jie & Song, Xiaoyu & Wang, Hui, 2025. "Effect of pyrolysis conditions on the preparation of nitrogen-containing chemicals and nitrogen-doped carbon from cock feathers: Nitrogen migration and transformation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    3. Fan, Dianzhao & Yang, Ronglin & Chen, Chunxiang & Qiu, Song & He, Shiyuan & Shi, Haosen, 2024. "Microwave catalytic co-pyrolysis of microalgae and high density polyethylene over activated carbon supported bimetallic: Characteristics and bio-oil analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    4. Xu, Ming-xin & Ji, Hai-wen & Wu, Ya-chang & Meng, Xiang-xi & Di, Jin-yi & Yang, Jie & Lu, Qiang, 2024. "Recovering glass fibers from waste wind turbine blades: Recycling methods, fiber properties, and potential utilization," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Chunxiang & Ning, Haimin & Zhou, Shuai & Zhao, Shiyi & Yang, Ronglin & Zhao, Xingchen, 2025. "Microwave co-pyrolysis of Chlorella vulgaris and cow dung with composite additives: Characteristics, bio-oil analysis and reaction mechanism," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    2. Yang, Ronglin & Chen, Chunxiang & Zhao, Shiyi & Wan, Shouqiang & He, Shiyuan, 2025. "Microwave catalytic co-pyrolysis of Chlorella vulgaris and polystyrene: Characteristics, pyrolysis oil component and mechanism analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 335(C).
    3. Chen, Chunxiang & Zhao, Jian & Wei, Yixue & Huang, Xiaodong & Lu, Wei & Fan, Dianzhao & Bi, Yingxin & Qiu, Hongfu, 2023. "Influence of graphite/alumina on co-pyrolysis of Chlorella vulgaris and polypropylene for producing bio-oil," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    4. Krzysztof M. Czajka & Janusz Skrzypa & Anna M. Kisiela-Czajka & Dominika Kufka & Barbara Rogosz, 2025. "Valorisation of Poultry Feathers Through Pyrolysis: A Pilot-Scale Waste-to-Energy Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-21, September.
    5. Natalia Cieślewicz & Krzysztof Pilarski & Agnieszka A. Pilarska, 2025. "End-of-Life Strategies for Wind Turbines: Blade Recycling, Second-Life Applications, and Circular Economy Integration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-29, September.
    6. Li, Pan & Chen, Yasen & Chen, Hai & Chen, Wei & Hu, Junhao & Chen, Jiaheng & Wang, Peiping & Chang, Chun & Pang, Shusheng, 2025. "Catalytic enhancement of MOF-derived Fe@C catalysts in microwave-assisted co-pyrolysis: synergistic integration with bamboo-based pyrolytic char and microwave carbonization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    7. Shir Reen Chia & Saifuddin Nomanbhay & Jassinnee Milano & Kit Wayne Chew & Chung-Hong Tan & Kuan Shiong Khoo, 2022. "Microwave-Absorbing Catalysts in Catalytic Reactions of Biofuel Production," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-26, October.
    8. Fan, Dianzhao & Yang, Ronglin & Chen, Chunxiang & Qiu, Song & He, Shiyuan & Shi, Haosen, 2024. "Microwave catalytic co-pyrolysis of microalgae and high density polyethylene over activated carbon supported bimetallic: Characteristics and bio-oil analysis," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C).
    9. Cheng, Leilei & Chen, Ruizhe & Yang, Jialiang & Chen, Xueru & Yan, Xinyu & Gu, Jing & Liu, Zejian & Yuan, Haoran & Chen, Yong, 2025. "Mechanisms, technical optimization, and perspectives in the recycling and reprocessing of waste wind turbine blades: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    10. Chen, Zhijie & Wei, Wei & Chen, Xueming & Liu, Yiwen & Shen, Yansong & Ni, Bing-Jie, 2024. "Upcycling of plastic wastes for hydrogen production: Advances and perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    11. Chen, Chunxiang & Wei, Yixue & Wei, Guangsheng & Qiu, Song & Yang, Gaixiu & Bi, Yingxin, 2023. "Microwave Co-pyrolysis of mulberry branches and Chlorella vulgaris under carbon material additives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    12. Li, Changheng & Zhu, Xuewen & Duan, Yuandong & Yun, Mengying & Ma, Jiao & Zhang, Zhikun & Kong, Wenwen & Shen, Boxiong, 2025. "High-value activated carbons preparation from Enteromorpha prolifera and their electrochemical assessment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    13. Wu, Weiwei & Li, Huanyu & Zhao, Jitong & Meng, Yanran & Yang, Wenrui & Lu, Jian-Xin & Thomas, Carlos & Poon, Chi Sun, 2026. "Advances in low-carbon concrete performance through glass fiber integration: Mechanisms and recycling innovation," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 226(PB).
    14. Jianling Li & Juan He & Zihan Xu, 2025. "Sustainability and Material Flow Analysis of Wind Turbine Blade Recycling in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-30, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:258:y:2026:i:c:s0960148125026515. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.