Upcycling Wind Turbine Blade Waste into High-Performance Flexible Thermal Insulation Composites

The reusing of waste epoxy resin/glass fiber composites from decommissioned wind turbine blades not only helps to reduce environmental burdens and resource waste but also opens up avenues for generating high-performing, useful materials. In this study, these waste composites were used as the reinforcing phase and combined with sodium alginate and sodium hyaluronate pregels, as well as in situ polymerized polyethylene glycol diacrylate, to fabricate lightweight and flexible thermal insulation composites with an interconnected porous architecture and a three-dimensional interpenetrating polymer network. The resultant composite exhibited a superior combination of low bulk density (0.184 g cm–3) and high compressive strain (>80%), outperforming a wide range of reported silica-based or organic aerogels and composites. Additionally, it demonstrated excellent elasticity and recoverability, low thermal conductivity (0.068 W (m K)−1), and enhanced flame self-extinguishing capability, offering great potential for applications in flexible thermal management and safe insulation systems. This work offers a concept for the high-value use of wind turbine blade debris and the creation of lightweight, flexible, and multipurpose thermal management materials.