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Abstract
• Highlights
• High-density polyethylene grocery bags were pyrolyzed to alternative diesel fuel.
• Saturated aliphatic paraffins comprised most of the fuel composition (96.8%).
• Nearly all fuel properties were within ASTM D975 and EN 590 diesel specifications.
• Derived cetane number and lubricity were superior to conventional diesel fuel.
• Plastic derived diesel is suitable as a blend component for petroleum diesel fuel.
How to turn plastic waste into diesel fuel cheaply
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The process is really simple, it is similar to how alcohol is made. If you heat plastic waste in non oxygen environment, it will melt, but will not burn. After it has melted, it will start to boil and evaporate, you just need to put those vapors through a cooling pipe and when cooled the vapors will condense to a liquid and some of the vapors with shorter hydrocarbon lengths will remain as a gas. The exit of the cooling pipe is then going through a bubbler containing water to capture the last liquid forms of fuel and leave only gas that is then burned. If the cooling of the cooling tube is sufficient, there will be no fuel in the bubbler, but if not, the water will capture all the remaining fuel that will float above the water and can be poured off the water. On the bottom of the cooling tube is a steel reservoir that collects all the liquid and it has a release valve on the bottom so that the liquid fuel can be poured out. Here are some pictures to better understand the design:
This device works on electricity (3 phase), it has six nichrome coils as heating elements and consumes a total of 6kW (1kW each coil). The coils are turned on and off by three solid state relays, one for each phase, the relays are controlled by a digital thermostat with a temperature sensor just a bit below the lid, so that the vapor temperature can be monitored. You need to heat the plastic slowly to about 350 degrees and just wait till it does the magic. Our device has a capacity of 50 liters and can hold about 30 kg of shredded plastic. The process takes about 4 hours, but it can be shortened considerably by tweaking the design a bit. As I said, this makes a liquid fuel that can be used as multifuel, that means it can be used on diesel engines and also on gasoline engines, but we still need to test it will work on gasoline. It works for diesel engines just fine, that has already been tested. There is a difference in what plastic you use, if you use polyethylene (plastic cans, plastic foil, and all kind of flexible non break plastics) you will get out liquid fuel that will solidify as it cools into paraffin, it is still good for diesel engines as long as you use a heated fuel tank, because it needs to be heated just about at 30 degrees celsius to be liquid and transparent. If you don't want that, you can put the paraffin through the device for one more time and you will chop those hydrocarbons even smaller and half of the paraffin will turn to liquid fuel and other half will remain a paraffin, but much denser and will melt at higher temperatures, this is the stuff you can make candles out of and it does not smell at all when burned, maybe a bit like candles. But if you use polypropylene (computer monitor cases, printer cases, other plastics that break easily), you get out only liquid fuel, no paraffin at all. All you need is just filter the fuel out of solids and you good to go and put it in your gas tank. We have made the analysis and it is almost the perfect diesel fraction. It has no acids or alkalines in it, like fuel from tires does. The unit in the pictures can convert about 60 kg of plastic into 60 liters of fuel in one day. Other methods of heating the reactor can be employed, electricity is just easier to work with and control. Some Japanese companies manufacture such devices, but their prices for this size unit is more than 100 000$, our home made device cost us 900$ max. We use aluminum oxide bricks to insulate the heat, they are light as foam and can be easily cut in any shape, but any kind of insulator can be used. The bricks make the highest costs for this device. It can also be made using liquid fuel burners to heat the reactor, this will enable to make the device self sustainable by using about 10-15% of the produced fuel along with the produced gas. A small farm can use a device this size and make fuel for itself by converting plastic waste to fuel, farms have very much plastic waste and it is a big problem, at least in my country. Our next goal is to make the same thing possible using biomass, every farm could then use old leafs, wet grass, saw dust and all kind of biomass and gasify it into tar like substance that can then be put through the pyrolysis device and turned into biodiesel. But we will see about that. Here are some fuel samples:
All around the globe companies and individuals are starting to produce fuel from waste plastic. As only 8% of waste plastic is recycled in the U.S., 15% in Western Europe, and much less in developing countries, this reuse of plastic could potentially keep enormous amounts of plastic out of landfills and out of the oceans. Over 500 billion pounds of new plastic is manufactured each year and roughly 33% of that is single use and thrown away. As so little plastic is recycled, we need to reframe plastic waste as an underused resource vs landfill destined. If all plastic waste made it into the landfill, it would surely be mined in the future, but currently all plastic waste does not make it into our landfills. The United Nations estimates plastic accounts for four-fifths of the accumulated garbage in the world's oceans. We need to stop polluting our oceans with plastic before it is too late, and start collecting all plastics suitable for this new fairly simple technology, a technology that is available now.
The technology is not overly complicated, plastics are shredded and then heated in an oxygen-free chamber (known as pyrolysis) to about 400 degrees celsius. As the plastics boil, gas is separated out and often reused to fuel the machine itself. The fuel is then distilled and filtered. Because the entire process takes place inside a vacuum and the plastic is melted - not burned, minimal to no resultant toxins are released into the air, as all the gases and or sludge are reused to fuel the machine.
For this technology, the type of plastic you convert to fuel is important. If you burn pure hydrocarbons, such as polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), you will produce a fuel that burns fairly clean. But burn PVC, and large amounts of chlorine will corrode the reactor and pollute the environment. Burning PETE releases oxygen into the oxygen deprived chamber thereby slowing the processing, and PETE recycles efficiently at recycling centers, so it is best to recycle PETE traditionally. HDPE (jugs) and LDPE (bags and films) are basically polyethylene so usable as fuel as well, just slightly more polluting as a thicker heavier fuel is created. But additional processing can turn even HDPE into a clean diesel.
Chapter 2
Process
the Plastic2Oil Advantage
With its revolutionary Plastic2Oil (P2O) technology, JBI has pioneered the development of a process that derives ultra-clean, ultra-low sulphur fuel which does not require further refining, directly from unwashed, unsorted waste plastics.
At JBI, we advocate environmental sustainability while energizing local economies through the creation of green jobs. We expect our Plastic2Oil technology will transform waste management practices to redefine the recycling landscape and how we recycle tomorrow and into the future.
Our P2O technology has successfully overcome significant barriers in the fuel industry. Some of the key differentiators of our process are outlined below.
Validation & Permitting
• Reputable independent labs have validated the P2O technology including IsleChem (process engineering) and Conestoga-Rovers & Associates (emissions stack test).
• JBI has been issued all necessary permits to operate by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).
• JBI has been issued an exemption from Air Permitting in the state where the first site will be located for the agreement with Rock-Tenn Company ("RockTenn").
• Engineering report performed by SAIC validates and verifies the technology and economics.
Processor
• The processor requires only 4,500 sq. ft. of operating space.
• Height requirement is approximately 20 ft.
• Highly automated; very low operator to processor ratio.
• Modular design allows for easy deployment.
Inputs
• The P2O processor accepts unwashed, unsorted waste plastics. Optimal feedstock includes polyethylene and polypropylene.
• The P2O process is permitted by the NYSDEC for up to 4,000 lbs. of plastic feedstock per machine per hour at the Company's Niagara Falls, NY facility.
Process
• The conversion ratio for waste plastic into fuel averages 86%.
• Approximately 1 gallon of fuel is extracted from 8.3 lbs. of plastic.
• The processor uses its own off-gases as fuel (approximately 10-12% of process output); minimal energy is required to run the machine.
• Approximately 2-4% of the resulting product is Petcoke (Carbon Black), a high BTU fuel.
• Emissions are lower than a natural gas furnace of similar size, and the quality of the emissions improve with increased feed rates.
• Results from the final stack test performed by Conestoga-Rivers & Associates confirm that the processor emissions are well within the limits allowable under a NYSDEC air permit.
• The process operates at atmospheric pressure, and is not susceptible to pinhole leaks and/or other problems with pressure and vacuum-based system.
• The reusable catalyst is produced economically.
• The fuel produced is refined and separated without the high cost of a distillation tower.
Resource Usage
• The P2O processor is designed to use minimal amounts of external energy.
• As well as being beneficial for the environment, this is also a significant factor in the commercial viability of the process.
• Water is used for cooling only and usage is minimized through recycling the water in a non-contact closed loop. The water is not in contact with the process itself, keeping it clean and uncontaminated.
• Only 53 kWh electricity is required to run the fans, pumps and small motors. No electricity is used in the transformation of the plastic to fuel.
• Natural gas is only used on start-up to heat the reactor – once the processor is running, the reactor is heated with its own off-gases.
• A facility-wide gas compression system governs natural gas usage throughout the entire production process.
How to turn plastic waste into diesel fuel cheaply
________________________________________
The process is really simple, it is similar to how alcohol is made. If you heat plastic waste in non oxygen environment, it will melt, but will not burn. After it has melted, it will start to boil and evaporate, you just need to put those vapors through a cooling pipe and when cooled the vapors will condense to a liquid and some of the vapors with shorter hydrocarbon lengths will remain as a gas. The exit of the cooling pipe is then going through a bubbler containing water to capture the last liquid forms of fuel and leave only gas that is then burned. If the cooling of the cooling tube is sufficient, there will be no fuel in the bubbler, but if not, the water will capture all the remaining fuel that will float above the water and can be poured off the water. On the bottom of the cooling tube is a steel reservoir that collects all the liquid and it has a release valve on the bottom so that the liquid fuel can be poured out. Here are some pictures to better understand the design: