14 DAY TRIAL // A team of scientists in India claim to have figured out a way not only to keep old plastic shopping bags from ending up in landfill, but also to put them to better use.
Specifically, they say that they have developed a process that makes is possible to turn old bags that nobody has any use for any longer into fuel.
Besides, they argue that the fuel obtained in this manner can successfully be used to keep vehicle engines up and running.
The material that the process targets is low-density polyethylene, Click Green tells us.
This is a common polymer that is used to make not just plastic bags, but also computer components, containers, and medical and laboratory equipment.
The scientists detail that, in order to use said polymer to make vehicle fuel, they first had to heat the plastic waste until it reached a temperature of about 400 – 500 degrees Celsius (752 – 932 degrees Fahrenheit).
They also employed a kaolin (i.e. a clay mineral that contains aluminum and silicon) catalyst, and succeeded in getting the plastic's polymer chains to break down.
Apart from liquid fuel said to be very much similar to run-off-the-mill petrochemical fuels from a chemical standpoint, this process releases combustible gases and wax.
In a paper in the International Journal of Environment and Waste Management, the researchers detail that the reaction is surprisingly effective when taking place at 450 degrees Celsius (842 degrees Fahrenheit) and when the amount of kaolin used is kept at a minimum.
Specifically, they say that, in these conditions, about 700 grams (about 24.7 ounces) of liquid fuel can be produced from 1 kilogram (roughly 2.2 pounds) of plastic waste.
The scientists who worked on this project are now trying to find a way to make this technology commercially viable.
“Given that most plastics are made from petrochemicals, this solution to plastic recycling brings the life-cycle full circle allowing a second use as an oil substitute,” they say.
Furthermore, “The process could, if implemented on a large enough scale, reduce pressures on landfill as well as ameliorating the effects of dwindling oil supplies in a world with increasing demands on petrochemicals for fuel.”