Dive summary:
- Companies are working on a new technology to convert old plastics into working fuel oil by a process called Pyrolysis.
- The process saves energy, reduces carbon emissions and, depending on local landfill prices, may be cheaper than sending plastic to the landfill.
- Estimates show that the technology should be commercially viable within five or 10 years.
From the article:
"Yes. And the idea isn’t just theoretical. A number of companies (as well as some innovative individuals) are already using different versions of a technology called pyrolysis to convert waste plastic into usable fuel oil.
Pyrolysis heats up carbon-based materials in the absence of oxygen – sometimes using a catalyst of some kind in addition to heat – to decompose them into other products. Pyrolyzing plastics generally produces a liquid fuel, a gas product, ash, char and some other byproducts. The resulting liquid fuel can be refined into a variety of different fuels such as gasoline or diesel, while the syngas can be burned to drive a generator. ..."
