Conversion of waste plastic to fuel products

• Main Authors: Phanisankar, B.S.S., Vasudeva Rao, N., Manikanta, J.E.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Fuel products; Plastic waste management; Pyrolysis; Thermal cracking; WTE
• ISSN: 2214-7853; 2214-7853
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2020.02.880

Worldwide plastic production is prophesied to increase by 3.8% until 2030. Flexible and non-recyclable plastic materials are used in a wide range of applications like packaging, 3D printing, and construction. To keep out the plastic waste from landfill a potential approach is “plastic to energy”, which unlocks the chemical energy stored in it and extract fuel. Environmental issues allied with waste plastics is a worldwide concern and threat. India has apparent and substantial growth both in production and intake of plastics. Thus becoming difficult for the administration of waste plastic collection and discrimination processes. According to the Central pollution control board (CPCB), the pollution boards in India filed information on plastic waste generation in 2018–19. As per CPCB estimate of plastic waste generated in 2017–18 was approximately 660,787.85 tones, enough to fill 66,079 trucks at 10 tones per truck. This does not reflect the situation in more than 60% of India’s states and union territories. Presently, incinerators or Waste-to-energy (WTE) plants are positioned as the modus operandi for waste treatment which derives fuels from waste plastic and minimizes the solid waste sent to landfills. However, reports show that significant amounts of greenhouse gas emissions are generated from WTE systems. Therefore, pyrolysis process enlightens a well-organized, clean and operative means of not only removing plastic wreckage from the environment but also explore some innovative ways of turning waste into valuable products like Petrol, High-Speed Petrol, Diesel and Gas etc.