Converting Plastic Waste to Energy: Green Technology: Eco20/20

Converting Plastic Waste to Energy

Plastic is one of the most useful materials of all time. Every day, we use a multitude of items that are either partly or completely made of plastic. Tragically, tons of this plastic end up in our landfills every year. Depending on the quality of the plastic, it may take anywhere from a few days to several years for it to break down in landfills but it never breaks down completely into particles that can be used in nature. As such, plastic is one of the worst offenders when it comes to environmental pollution. That is, it has been until now. It is possible that we may be able to take our plastic waste and turn it into a usable energy source and many scientists are working on the best way to do this.

Polyflow LLC of Ohio has developed what they are calling the Polyflow Process. In this process, previously unrecyclable polymers can be converted to a mixture of gas, diesel, monomers, and solvents. A further benefit is that the resulting solvents can be used to manufacture new plastic goods, reducing the need for petroleum-derived solvents.

Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois has invented a way to process a mixture of plastics together and produce tiny carbon-containing spheres that can conduct heat and electricity and that are useful in a vast array of products. These spheres can be used to extend the life of automobile tires by dispersing friction-related heat from the tire surface. They can also be used to make batteries operate more efficiently. Other uses for the carbon spheres include use in lubricants, toners, paints, and filters. In addition, these carbon spheres can be melted and then pressurized to a gas state, where the spheres break down into their individual elements. If the chamber is filled with inert gas, hydrogen gas is formed. Amazingly, these little microspheres are cheaper to produce than traditional methods of creating similar microspheres.

At Northwestern University, scientists have created a double-tank waste combustor that processes plastics through pyrolysis in the upper tank and burns the resulting solution with oxidants in the lower tank. This combustor generates heat and steam that can be converted to electric power while producing no harmful emissions. Using this process, all recyclable plastics in the Unites States could replace the need for 462 million gallons of petroleum each year.

Researchers at Envion in Washington, D.C. have discovered a way to remove hydrocarbons from waste plastic by heating it with infra-red energy. This process requires no catalyst and converts 82% of the plastic waste into usable fuel at a cost of approximately $10 per barrel. Quite a deal when compared to the oil price of around $93 per barrel.

With these technologies, it seems that one of our greatest sources of nonbiodegradable waste may be eliminated from our landfills and converted into a clean energy source. This may be the solution to two of our major problems at once. The idea of converting waste plastic to fuel is one we definitely need to explore further.