Michigan researchers transformed old wind turbine blades into tasty gummy bear candies, sports drink, organic glass for windows and cars

Wind turbine blades have the power to turn the wind into electricity without polluting the environment. They are seen as symbols of a cleaner, greener future, but their massive blades have created a difficult problem of their own: what happens when they wear out? Now, scientists may have found an unexpectedly sweet answer. They do not have to end up being discarded at landfills when they wear out. Researchers at Michigan State University discovered that the blades can be turned into material for new products, including sweets!

Wind Turbine Blades Can Become Edible

The materials can be recycled and broken down to create new goods, such as chewy candies and turbine blades, once the blades have reached the end of their useful lives.

One of the most popular types of renewable energy is wind power. Turbine blades, which are typically composed of fibreglass and can be as long as half a football pitch, provide disposal challenges; many are dumped in landfills when their useful lives are up.


As per a Guardian article, researchers at Michigan State University invented a composite resin for the blade by combining glass fibres with a polymer extracted from a plant and a synthetic one.

Here’s How Old Wind Turbines Can Become Your Favourite Snack

The new resin the researchers came up with could be digested with an alkaline solution. This generated potassium lactate, which can be purified and made into sweets and sports drinks.

John Dorgan, one of the researchers, told The Guardian, "We recovered food-grade potassium lactate and used it to make gummy bear candies, which I ate.”

Additional Useful Material Extracted from the Resin

More than only potassium lactate was produced by the alkaline treatment. Additionally, it assisted in the recovery of poly (methyl methacrylate), or PMMA, a typical acrylic plastic used in windows, car tail lights, and other transparent parts.

Because PMMA is transparent and hard like glass, it is sometimes known as acrylic glass or organic glass. It is commonly utilised as a lightweight, shatter-resistant replacement for conventional glass.

From Plant Matter to Plastic and Back to Food

According to the researchers, there is no essential distinction between a carbon atom that came from fossil fuels and one that originated from a plant source like maize or grass. In the end, both take part in the larger carbon cycle on Earth. The study illustrates a possible process whereby plant-based biomass can first be transformed into durable plastic materials and then processed back into materials that can be utilised in food products.

The resin's capacity to sustain a truly circular system was also emphasised by the researchers. The resin in a blade can be dissolved to separate it from the surrounding material once its useful life is over. Instead of being thrown away, the recovered parts can be processed and utilised again and again. This capacity to continuously recover and repurpose the material embodies the fundamental concept of a circular economy, in which resources and products are kept in use for as long as possible rather than ending up as trash.