OUR GREAT MINDS

    by Tina Olivero

    EDGE Solutions and INEOS Styrolution: Develop Epic Wind Farms

    INEOS Styrolution, the global leader in styrenics, and Edge Solutions, a Dundee-based innovator dedicated to the optimisation of wind energy generation, announce today the development of armourEDGE protection for wind turbine blades based on a customised version of INEOS Styrolution’s Luran® SC material.

    ‘Leading edge erosion’ is a serious issue with large commercial wind turbine blades. It is caused by environmental impacts including rain, hail, ice, salt and UV. Such damage of the blade surface leads to increased drag and ultimately to reduced energy production. It also drives operating cost up due to increased maintenance, regular blade replacement and downtime of the generator. While the issue already exists for onshore installations, it becomes even more significant for offshore wind farms, operating under extreme conditions.

    Based on specifications defined by Edge Solutions, INEOS Styrolution developed a specific material solution using its Luran® SC product. This material became the basis for the armourEDGE shield – a leading edge protection solution that significantly reduces the impact of environmental factors on the leading edge of wind turbine blades. The armourEDGE shield leads to significantly less downtown and maintenance cost. It also results in an increase in annual energy production. Their armourEDGE system is currently being installed on an operational offshore wind farm in northern Europe.

    David Urch, Managing Director, Edge Solutions comments, “Leading edge erosion is a significant issue for wind turbines, offshore and onshore. With tip speeds approaching 330 km/h, continual impacts by rain, hail, ice and other airborne particulates damage the blade surface, leading to increased drag and reduced energy production. This drives up operating cost due to increased maintenance downtime and ultimately blade replacement. Over the last four years we have worked closely with the team at INEOS Styrolution to develop our armourEDGE product which maintains the blades’ aerodynamic properties and is extremely durable. With rapid installation, this results in less downtime and improved profitability for wind farm owners.”

    The Luran® SC product line is comprised of blended ASA1 with PC2. The material provides very high heat resistance, stiffness and excellent impact strength. It is very stable towards oxidation. Because of its inherent robustness, Luran® SC is the material of choice for a wide range of challenging outdoor applications.
    1 Acrylonitrile styrene acrylate
    2 Polycarbonate

    Ken MacIntosh, Key Account Manager at INEOS Styrolution, states, “It’s been very motivating to work with an entrepreneurial company like Edge Solutions. Together, we came up with the optimised material performance for the given challenge.”

    About INEOS Styrolution

    INEOS Styrolution is the leading global styrenics supplier, with a focus on styrene monomer, polystyrene, ABS Standard and styrenic specialties. With world-class production facilities and more than 90 years of experience, INEOS Styrolution helps its customers succeed by offering solutions, designed to give them a competitive edge in their markets. At the same time, these innovative and sustainable best-in-class solutions help make the circular economy for styrenics a reality. The company provides styrenic applications for many everyday products across a broad range of industries, including automotive, electronics, household, construction, healthcare, packaging and toys/sports/leisure. In 2020, sales were at 4 billion euros. INEOS Styrolution employs approximately 3,600 people and operates 20 production sites in ten countries.

    About Edge Solutions

    Scottish company Edge Solutions has developed its armourEDGE shield which is a game-changing approach to the costly problem of leading-edge erosion on wind turbine blades. Its precision engineered shields securely bond to the leading edge of blades to provide an aerodynamically optimal, full-life protection that minimizes maintenance costs and maximizes energy production and return on investment.

    Source(s) and Image(s): Edge Solutions and INEOS Styrolution

    Tina Olivero

    30 years ago, Tina Olivero looked into the future and saw an opportunity to make a difference for her province and people. That difference came in the form of the oil and gas sector. Six years before there was even a drop of oil brought to the shores of Newfoundland, she founded The Oil and Gas Magazine (THE OGM) from a back room in her home on Signal Hill Road, in St. John’s, Newfoundland. A single mother, no financing, no previous journalism or oil and gas experience, she forged ahead, with a creative vision and one heck of a heaping dose of sheer determination. With her pioneering spirit, Ms. Olivero developed a magazine that would educate, inspire, motivate and entertain oil and gas readers around the world — She prides herself in marketing and promoting our province and resources in unprecedented ways. The OGM is a magazine that focuses on our projects, our people, our opportunities and ultimately becomes the bridge to new energy outcomes and a sustainable new energy world. Now diversifying into the communications realms, a natural progression from the Magazine, The OGM now offers an entirely new division - Oil & Gas Media. Today, The Oil and Gas Magazine is a global phenomenon that operates not only in Newfoundland, but also in Calgary and is read by oil and gas enthusiasts in Norway, Aberdeen, across the US and as far reaching as Abu Dhabi, in the Middle East. Believing that Energy is everyone’s business, Ms. Olivero has combined energy + culture to embrace the worlds commitment to a balance of work and home life as well as fostering a foundation for health and well being. In this era of growth and development business and lifestyle are an eloquent mix, there is no beginning or end. Partnering with over 90 oil and gas exhibitions and conferences around the world, Ms. Olivero's role as a Global Visionary is to embrace communication in a way that fosters oil and gas business and industry growth in new and creative ways.

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