Shaoan don't be impatient!

Recently, the news of Covestro polyurethane wind turbine blades is very hot.

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1 The composition of wind turbine blades

Wind turbine blades mainly of a matrix resin, reinforcing fibers, sandwich, structural adhesives, coatings, etc.

2 Performance requirements of wind turbine blades for matrix resin

In the development of wind power blades, attempts have been made to use over-unsaturated polyester, vinyl resin, epoxy resin, polyurethane, acrylic resin, etc.

Low viscosity-save filling time; 

Sufficient available time; 

Fast curing-save curing time; 

Small volume shrinkage-keep the size stable; 

Not sensitive to environmental humidity, etc.

Higher heat-resistant temperature; 

Higher mechanical properties of the body; 

Good FRP performance and good fatigue resistance.

The comprehensive performance comparison of wind turbine blades based on epoxy resin and polyurethane resin systems is as follows:

3 The large-scale application of polyurethane blades is still early

From the comparison of various indicators, polyurethane blades are indeed slightly better than epoxy resin blades in performance, and have the potential to partially replace epoxy resin, but the performance and cost are not much improved with epoxy resin, and it is not subversive.

The disadvantage of polyurethane blades is that they are sensitive to moisture.

Regarding the substitution of polyurethane blades for wind turbine blades, there are several points of view:

1.
The epoxy resin industry should be vigilant, but it has not yet reached the point where it needs anxiety.
Epoxy resin has been applied to wind power blades for decades, and more than 99% of wind power blades use epoxy resin, and the technology is quite mature.
In contrast, polyurethane wind turbine blades are still in the development and exploration period, and Covestro has been pushing it for many years, and it has not yet been applied on a large scale;

2.
Lightweight and large-scale are the development trend of wind power blades.
The experimental length of polyurethane blades is still about 60 meters, and there is a long way to go;

3.
The wind power industry has a large investment and high risks, and wind power blades need to be certified by the German Classification Society.
The certification period is long.
It is too early to abandon the existing epoxy system and choose the blades of the polyurethane system;

4.
The current price of epoxy resin is high.
Judging from the historical price, the price of epoxy resin basically runs in the price range of 15,000-25,000 yuan/ton.
There are more domestic epoxy resin production capacity, and the price will inevitably fall.
The price is also falling sharply this week.
When the price drops below 20,000 yuan/ton, will the concept of polyurethane blades continue to be so hot?

5.
In the same way, will the large-scale application of polyurethane blades cause the price of polyurethane to soar? Cost advantages may not exist!