E3c Hub is pleased to present a seminar with Larry Lessard, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at McGill University, World Traveler and Eco-Warrior.
Larry Lessard is the founder of the McGill Structures and Composite Materials Laboratory in 1989 that explores the design of composite materials and their structures “From Start to Finish”. In more than 35 years of research, design of composite materials has been explored with applications to the aerospace industry, automotive, musical instruments, sports equipment and more recently on sustainability and recycling of composites. In 2022-23, Larry Lessard spent one year as cycling 23,000 km around the world to promote recycling and sustainability, giving talks at universities and institutions in 20 countries.
The seminar will focus on life cycle analysis of recycled fiberglass from wind turbine blades.
The extensive amount of end-of-life wind turbine blades poses a significant environmental problem, and the situation is worsening with time. There are many proposed waste solutions for end-of-life blades, but not all are truly beneficial to the environment. This work presents a life cycle analysis of a waste blade recycling solution based on mechanical recycling and fused filament fabrication. The results show that under the condition of a 55% recycling rate, this recycling method has low net environmental impact compared to conventional waste treatment methods, such as landfilling and incineration, and its environmental benefits have been confirmed. Additionally, this approach can recycle both fiberglass and epoxy resin, provide fiber-reinforced filament for 3D printing, and avoid approximately 2 kg carbon emissions per kilogram of the filament produced from virgin fiberglass.
Friday, October 24, 2025, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
You can view the presentation, in French, here:
