1711 Fuel From Plastic - Destructive Distillation
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- Опубліковано 13 жов 2022
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Folks, HDPE is recycle code 2
You can also use LDPE, recycle code 4.
Don't use other plastics, some of them give off toxic and corrosive gasses.
You can get at least 3 fractions - one a bit like petrol, one a bit like kerosene and one kinda like diesel, but as a wax.
That depends on the temperature you cook and cool.
Don't heat the plastic too much and get the gas VERY cold - if you want to collect the lightest and most volatile compounds.
It will begin to give off gas at about 250c, as it gets hotter, the heavier compounds begin to vapourise.
At 500c the whole thing will boil away.
If you want separate fractions, it's easier to control the input temperature than the cooling temperatures.
For collection, submerge the condenser outlet in a bucket (with lid) of cold water. You'll need a couple of holes in the lid, obviously. One for the condensate pipe and one small vent hole.
All the good stuff will float on the water, for you to skim off.
reminds me of making moonshine and removing the methanol from the mix.
HDPE needs to be heated to approximately 450°C for pyrolysis. As you indicated there are lighter fractions, especially with mixed polyethylenes, that may be collected or used as a gas to assist in the heating process.
I'm suprised you got anything from the condenser, those bags couldn't have been more than 20-40 gram. I'd guess the heavier volatiles would get stuck at the bottom of condenser loops. Anyway, carry on!
@@Paxmax I’m sure he did more than one bag.
@@fearofchicke Yes, I agree, that is why I wrote 'bags' as it seemed to be bags stuffed into bag because of the final volume pressed into can. I would guess 3 bags or less, but that is based on a very standard grocery store Swedish shopping bag. 3 of those, I keep them tightly tied together for minimum volume, that weighs 51 gram. (I was only spit balling it in first post)
Maybe you mean he stopped and refilled can mid destillation?
Well, here is yet another use for the mighty rocket stove, maybe.
All of these videos are pure gold. Wish I'd had a teacher like you when I was in school. Better late than never. Thank you for showing all these things we all might soon need.
You’ve been on fire lately, love this series on making heat!
pun intended? 🙂
Surely the distillation coil needs to be vertical ? The way that it is as present, would have any condensate pooling at the bottom of the loops.
Somewhere in UA-cam there are videos of an off grid couple living in the Tropics. The man does destructive distillation of all plastics to create diesel for the couple's generator.
I came here from that video, hello
Just found your channel. Reminds me of a wood gasifier. Theres some high quality units you can build/buy that'll reliably power a gasoline generator using only wood or charcoal. Adding alittle water in its special res. adds hydrogen to the mix. Very useful stuff
I remember about 50 years ago reading that any domestic waste could produce something similar to crude oil when heated with an iron catalyst.
I love watching your videos. You are like some wise uncle I know I should have listened to when I was young. Lol. Thanks for the good vibes you are sending out to all. :)
Reminded me of power producing trash incinerators that we were looking into for a US Navy base back around 2010 - I resigned my commission before that public-private partnership was greenlit, but I think the company ran out of VC money and failed.
Based on the designs though, Coal plants (with modern scrubbers etc... ) could be modified to accept most trash. The pollutants of concern are removed as fly ash and clinker and encapsulated in concrete as sidewalks, roads and parking lots. This waste product saves tons of energy and waste used to make traditional Portland cement. Unfortunately this isn't common yet due to placing the original high-pollution plants away from the places with high population that would use the most concrete. It's way more cost effective to use all the trash as fuel than to waste a ton of resources attempting to recycle it.
Wow. I save every bit of packaging from all purchases to keep it out of the landfill. (My son said, "So she turned her home into a landfill.") Some is metal, like cans that I now have uses for, but most is plastic. I separate & store it by recycling codes. You have my attention.
Same. I have trash bags full of plastic. I bought a 5 gallon distiller on Amazon that I'll use to make my fuel.
@@ChadKovac I've been shopping distillers for a while now. Couldn't decide: stainless steel? copper? glass? med lab? commercial? residential? stovetop? electric? But...if I could make it out of all this surplus recycled material, that may be best option of all.
@@Good4All4Good I'm going with stainless. If it works I'll upgrade to 55 gal drums
@@ChadKovac Yeah! That's what I need. A way to scale it up for one big project, instead of a lot of little ones. Good idea.
The best use of milk bottles is to use it as a mouldable plastic. You heat it at low temp and it forms a gloup that can be poured into a mould. Giving you a 3D object without 3D printing.
Really really interesting series, thanks for the info 🎉
I like how you have catalogued your videos. Very convenient.
"bit stubborn" yeah if you control the temp what should come out is pure crude oil compound that can then further be fractionally distilled and ran over catalysts or zeolite reformers and all sorts of stuff to make the components of gasoline, or other basic building blocks for just about anything hydrocarbon based :)
from what I have read everywhere that research on this is being done, polyethylene plastics seem to be the perfect one of the plastics, to do break down distillation to crude oil (that is completely clean of contamination if you are using pure plastic with no coatings, or pigments inside it,) So this process being reversible with a catalyst from ethanol, and how easy it is to make ethanol from bio sources, seems like we could literally be calling it pelleted crude, something we make and store till we need to break it down and make into an oil or even better assemble a whole arrangement of components that you just put in the plastic and out the other ends come the stuff to make what ever oil derived substance you wanted (most probably would want to make on tap gasoline blend for their vehicles knowing us in the USA. lol) anyway, that pelleted fuel I think could become a substance too that would be easy to build an economy of trade with too :)
This guy is the man.
I love where this is going. I've been thinking along similar lines but using solar energy to reduce or convert multilayer pouches (chip bags etc) into energy. Anyways, love the channel and content as always!
Fresnel lens for heat
Another fantastically awesome video!!👍
I use HDPE to repair my kayak. The stuff is endlessly recyclable.
And I first thought you were talking about a electric condenser coil, like Telsa (probebly) ment his 3 Coil to be understood. LOVE
excellent break down of the syntax and semantics, thank you for that. Always like to get that stuff down so transfer of ideas between myself and someone else is effective (ie getting on the same page) :)
Awesome video, thank you Robert
ACTUALLY knowing a bit on plastics, the bags are LDPE and the plastic tubs, garbage bins, black plastic water pipe etc are HDPE. The only difference is low or high density. LD is low density HD is high density but they're both polyethylene. I haven't watched it in full yet but what's the chances we're making ethylene....
Very timely thanks for sharing!
Great work. I will definitely do some of these with my son.
now we just need to feed the fuel back into the burner ,and get a feed stock arangement going . Heat the home ,maybe some hot water ,and produce transport fuel at the same time .? well, Rob can , we'll watch in awe ..
Here is an idea for this to be fairly cheap and sustainable: Buy one of those very large vacuum insulated beverage containers (the 64 to 128 oz wide mouth types) at Walmart or the like. Get a metal container that can fit in same (with the following put on it). Wrap nichchrome wire around it, and hook that up directly to a Solar panel (I haven't done the calculations on the wattage you would need, but I suspect you would need at least a 100 watts).
Then, crinkle up some heavy duty aluminum foil and lightly wrap that around the outside of the vacuum insulated container. (this is to reflect any lost IR back towards the inside container. You need some air gap between the foil and the container for it to work though). Use some high temp insulation to cover the top. I recommend fumed silica in between fiberglass cloth that is sewn with kevlar thread. Ceramic fiber is a decent alternative. Put some crinkled up Al foil over the top of that insulation as well.
You now have a rather efficient heater, at least when the Sun is out and shining. From the late fall to early spring season, when it is cold to cool out, put reflectors on the sides of the Solar panel to increase output. If you do the insulation on the top well enough, you could use this in virtually any temps outside since vacuum insulation + IR reflecting material is an amazing combo.
Great video as always!
Oh, I love these videos!
20 seconds into video 1711... I decided to start over from 0001 and watch the whole thing. This project will most probably take a few years time.
Ah, so that's why OCADO want to take back our shopping bags!
Nice simple seperation
Just excellent!
I love this channel.
With the coil sitting almost horizontal won't the liquid build up in the bottom of the coils eventually blocking the flow? Would it be more efficient with the coil vertical?
Yes. That annoys me too. :) You can also get more useful output if you put a reflux column (a vertical section) directly on top the retort, and then condense what comes out of the top of that. This causes some condensate to run back into the retort for another go at breaking down, and you get lighter fractions distilling off. (more like kerosene or naptha)
@@dansw0rkshop I've done that with an alcohol still.
By laying the coil sideways a series of P traps are created, which can fill up with fluid and block the passage of gas. Why is he placing the condenser horizontally?
Very good demonstration! I’ve seen dry distillation done in a camp fire with popcorn tins and such, simple and effective. Now, how about a destructive pyrolysis rocket stove. Load the tin with your pyro-media place the assembly into the rocket stove, prime it with some methanol or twigs and shabang! Clean(er) burning plastic. You may even be able to meter the pyrolysis temp by adding a downdraft barrel over the primary chimney and raising or lowering the tin through a hole in the barrel top.
How this guy doesn't have >312K subscribers is a crime against humanity!
amazing video thank you i learnt a lot
Don't you get condensed fluid at the bottom of your coil turns?
It depends, but there will likely be some liquid left in the coils, but you can take the coil and tip it vertical for a few minutes so everything drains out. I say it depends because the flow of vapor can help push the residual liquid from them but there will always be some stuck.
Have seen several doing the Pyrosis, apparently a way 3rd world people convert plastic to make diesel, with a mix of Methanol. One video mentions if there is CO2 in the can rather than oxygen, reduces the toxic fumes from from of the destructive action.
There are several videos on UA-cam showing how to produce fuel (something like gasoline) from plastic.
Like others have mentioned you get three different distillations one of them is a gasoline like substance...
one of the issues I can see in using this gasoline like substance in a grid down situation is that the "octane" rating might be too low for modern higher compression vehicles to use.
Octane tells us how combustible the gasoline is. If the gasoline is too combustible it may cause pinging in one's vehicle, it may ignite before the spark plug creates a spark.
So, I was thinking that mixing the gasoline like substance with methanol distilled from wood and water can raise the octane rating to levels tolerable by modern engines.
Water and methanol injection is quite common in racing engines.
Garage 54 on youtube did this on a larger scale and actually did get an off colored substance that burned fine in a gasoline 4 cyl. engine.
burning tires (atleast when it contacts air) releases sulpher oxides, which are corrosive and toxic so just a heads up, but burning them in an anerobic environment should be fine. also dont burn PTFE as when it is pyrolyzed it gives off toxic fumes and can cause polymer fume fever.
Hydrothermal treatment and synthesis is another type of pyrolysis, which is milder, but can be used to do things like crack bio-oil tare into useful stuff.
QUESTION: can a solar reflective heater (such as the solar water boiling gizmos)generate enough concentrated heat onto the container with the plastic to obviate the need for a burner or fuel component? Thus making the whole production of the ‘oil’ virtually free?
Given the parabolic mirror arrays used to heat sodium lines to run a generator and produce electricity, I'm giving a setup for this could be achieved
It would be better to have the reflective heater heat up a pipe in which a HIGH boiling point solution (somebody mentioned liquid salts I think). It has to be able to handle going up to whatever temperature is needed to run the pyrolisis process without boiling
I wondered that cuz I seen this Ukrainian guy on UA-cam boiling water with curved reflectors
Solar cooker 200-400F max
You always need some catalyst but depending on how intricate the setup for the reactor is you can use the energy absorbed by solar panels as that heat source via various means (microwaves, induction, etc). One of the nice things about this setup is that if you are not able to separate and store the various forms of hydrocarbons that are the result of the breakdown of the original material you can redirect the gasses to aid the burner and reduce the overall input
For this to be practical, you need to heat it up with an alternative, and more "free" fuel/heat source. A few things initially come to mind: A Solar heater with a glass outside and metal inside with a vacuum pulled between the two for insulation, and the inside metal container painted/coated in an ultra black. Then set up some kind of Solar reflection system. I prefer upside down conical to parabolic because it is safer and easier to build, and doesn't focus to a point, but is more diffuse and all over.
Another option would be to use an induction cooker hooked up to some Solar panels (even better if you could convert it to run off straight DC, so you don't need inverter, battery bank, etc all which introduce expense and energy losses into the system). Whatever container you use, would obviously have to be well insulated.
Or, a well insulated and designed rocket or gasifier stove that can run on sticks, twigs, leaves, and essentially any waste biomass.
I'm curious why government or industry is not currently doing something like the above with the waste plastics? In the west, there isn't much true recycling going on anymore, or so it said.
Im almost 100% sure i was subscribed to this channel from years ago.. just had to resub..
Now someone needs to get crazy and make a solar concentrator to heat the destructive distillation tank up (and maybe coat it with something that readily converts light into thermal energy inside ;) ) for those who actually get plenty of sunlight XD (would be good for those living in an arid environment like deserts and such, something I still seriously want to try out for smelting and refining materials for solar cells (PV) to cut down on the need for fossil fuel input to make them from.
Maybe Robert should pull out the old fresnel lense and direct a beam at the can - talk about cheap fuel if that works!
I've got the urge to be destructive! This could be the solution lol.
If you get picky about classifying and separating the output, it becomes fractional distillation. Just adding my 2 pence-worth.
Another great video in this series. really glad I stumbled upon it. I looked in this exact setup a while back but have yet to actually do a run. When I was researching it I was advised by a few sources (one from Germany where they do this on industrial scales) who said to add a little sulphuric acid to the feedstock and it will help break the heavy molecules down to lighter ones at lower temps. Sadly I am not in a physical location where I can do this but I'm hoping someone out there can confirm this.
Sulfur needs to be removed from the end pruduct. In home biogas generators, many people use fine steel wool in a plastic pipe to flow the gas through and remove the sulfur.
Basically for pyrolysis are suit plastics that contain exclusively carbon and hydrogen (sort of hydrocarbons that's why they are so energetic).
I am willing to bet that it took more power to break that plastic down than you will get out of it as fuel. I am also willing to be that the plastic as a solid was less a global threat to the climate than the 75% of the bag that you released into the air. Well done.
Heat can be generated using lenses and the sun, micro plastics are hugely damaging to marine life which produces most of our oxygen.. you shld read more.
Great video.. I want to try this using solar and mirror's.
When the new world order happens, this guy is gonna be a beacon of knowledge and scientific understanding for the rebuild of the new civilisation!
Not that the civilisation of today is bad, it's the current leaders that make a mess of everything. But I guess, destruction and sacrifices has to occur to actually make a difference...
*shakes a lit fuel torch right next to the beaker of fuel*
I think if you distill the by-product a second time you will generate something closer to gasoline...
just discovered that you did some pyrolysis stuff. do more. want to build either a diesel production set up.. and/or a blending agent to mix with (cleaned) Waste Motor Oil for use in non computerized diesel engine.
I frekin love chemistry
I was going to ask you how long you have been doing these experiments for. I thought 312 years seems like a long time to be alive, but then I saw your videos are serialized. 😁
Another super interesting video. I am wondering if it would be a good idea to keep the pyrolysis output valve closed for some time to get everything "cooked ;)" properly and opening it once the pressure would build up a little bit. Also bits of copper inside pyrolisys chamber could perhaps distribute the heat evenly. I wonder if an induction cooker would work for this setup :D ..... best regards!
thanks
Excellent stuff. I am a "prepper" sort of person, this a hugely helpful set of video's. I have field cookers that work with menthanol. Can the plastics to fuel be further refined for fuel for a small petrol or diesel generator ? I am thinking lots of plastics everywhere, but there will be a massive fuel shortage if everything goes to heck. I am just planning ahead because the world is going to heck and can make an enclosed fire to sit a container on as wood is plentiful, instead of using a gas bottle and there is also plenty of Oak, etc for making Methanol and plenty of waste plastic for turning into fuel around where I live. This is another skill set of learning (and possibly surviving, if it all goes to heck in Europe over the winter due to fuel shortages and war escalating). As I said just thinking ahead of the game.
how would you propose setting up a distillation of a charcoal mound. The 1800's method of making a wood pile and covering it with dirt and having it burn up with no oxygen. But in thinking it through I guess you would always be getting various emissions because of the various state of burn- ie water vapor from logs drying while getting syngas from the dried wood. Just thinking of practical ways to produce larger quantities of syngas while also making charcoal.
what would be great is a video on what could be done with the resultant fuel that comes from this process? I mean could I use fuel derived from pyrolysis to power a lawn mower engine or even an automobile? What is the chemical difference between this type of fuel and regular petrol or gasoline? And then could this type of fuel be distilled further to get to the point where it is like petrol or diesel ? thanks for posting though. great video.
Or under pressure and thus a higher temperatures.
Robert Can you measure the heat energy you put in? AND compare to the heat energy of the product you distill?
Is it net positive or NOT???
No not positive
Are you using more power than you will get from the distillate?
Yes , by a lot. That's not the point.
@@mrman1536 Well, it is the point. It is like if using electric cars makes 10 times the 'carbon footprint' than petrol, when people don't leave off electricity production for them.
@@ArjayMartin this foram isnt about you getting off the grid, its about having fun while learning basic concepts ie- better batteries.
@@mrman1536 it's about thinking and tinkering. Coming up with questions demonstrates the former, and people can share their knowledge, and all grow from it.
You all should study Thermodynamics. The energy required by pyrolysis is greater than energy obtained from its products. There're many technologies commercialy available to crack heavy ends, their feasibility relies on the energy requirements.
Nice distiller but ( :) )... if you want to get higher quality reformation, you should use a "planar heat exchanger cooler" so nothing remains inside it, and cool down very much faster the gasses to get almost all those vapes inside the "formula"... it will be less viscous and more flammable probably.
Or wrap the copper tubing around a larger, central copper pipe that has some wicking material inside, a little distilled water, is sealed and has a vacuum pulled on it enough to lower the boiling temp of the water down to closer to room temp. Basically making a giant "heat pipe" that is super cooling/conductive. To further help, direct a fan over the system.
If that is too tricky for folks to build, then do this: Use that same larger copper pipe, but leave it open at the top, fill it with as fine silicon carbide powder as you can get. Pour some distilled water into it. Keep the top open so that the water can evaporate out. Then wrap the copper tubing around that. Plus fan like in the above.
Does it smell? Burning plastic always stinks, but this isn't burning, so I'm curious. Great video!
Smells like butter
Wouldn't it be more efficient to use the energy used to distill the plastics directly? Every time you convert something you lose efficiency.
How much energy to convert crude into gasoline? Why not just figure out how to use the crude directly. I think all you gain is convenience.
Pyrolosis of plastics is the future for many im sure.. The hurdle I feel is the fuel to acquire the the fuel..
Now garbage collection and if sorted properly that could be the fuel. .
I think initial expenses in fuel would be absorbed once you started to use the collected fuel for the heat source. Thus making it essentially "free" of further cost to complete the process 🤔
Clearly it wasn't a hurdle for Robert. He converted plastic to fuel easily and without a second thought.
@@crookedtool bro im talking large scale.. You need an abundance of fuel to extract the fuel..
@@papalincoln5774 ya a community garbage collection and proper sorting would have to be... So much waste available could be the fuel.. Or acres of fast growing plants like hemp and some tree species could be dedicated to the fuel.. But ya its a method that will probably be the future for many
@@sean-or1nc On a large scale, you use the same fuel that everyone else uses in manufacturing such as propane, electricity, etc.
So you want to burn trash. Why aren't all factories using trash already? Because with all the extra work involved with sorting, scrubbing pollution, etc, it's not much of an advantage, if any.
Love watching you videos. Was wondering how much fuel it took to make the methanol?
I may have missed the answer to this question in previous comments/videos but does the energy required to produce the fuel from plastic, wood etc outweigh the produced fuels energy?
My thought too, though, if the heat used to create the gas is also used to heat a space at the same time, you are not wasting the fuel, but will also get another fuel that is easier to use and regulate for cooking than solid fuel is, or used to drive engines for mechanical power or electricity. Best done as a batch job considering the rigmarole in doing it.
Is the potential energy from the distilled plastic greater than the energy the was used to create it?
Would building a reflux style column still be worth it for this kind of stuff? I only have basic distillation experience, but I found the column style not too difficult to build for how good it is with ethanol, but there might be some added complexity I'm not thinking of with heavier molecules.
My cousin and I did something like this once with plastic. I wouldn't use the reflux column for the first run (solid to liquid) but you could for the second refining run (which he hasn't done yet). By doing a second distillation after it cooled you can make a lighter nicer fuel.
Please can you do something on building a DIY LED low wattage infrared panel radiator?
Great video. Presumably, you'd then need to 'crack' the resultant goo down to get any realistically useful component oils & spirits?
I think the idea (in this case) is more so turning it into a fuel source for heating.
@@justinw1765 Thanks for your reply. Anything that we can do to use waste plastic, that doesn't in itself produce more (toxic or otherwise) waste or future problems, has to be a good move.
Dear Brian,
1. Which are the toxic and corrosive ones?
2. Which is the composition of the three fractions?
3. How you know the products are like petrol, Kero or diesel?
4. Do you know what Boiling Range concept stands for?
An example of a toxic one you wouldn't want to pyrolize is PVC, recycling number 3. The trouble is that it contains Chlorine, and there are a number of unpleasant compounds it can form at high temperatures. That's why there are warnings not to burn PVC plastic, e.g. burning the insulation off wires. I don't know of any specific issues with pyrolysis of PTFE (teflon), but I'd avoid that too because of the Fluorine in it.
I love this idea
But can anyone confirm that the energy we can derive from the fuel produced, exceeds the energy used to pyrolise the HDPE ?
If you used this same process on used motor oil would you get kerosine, diesel or gasoline?
Just wondering if you could do the same with e-waist as a way to also liberate the metals ?
I've seen several vids where folks have been able to break down plastic into multiple parts, gas diesel and some waste material I forget what was. Being able to run an engine from fuel produced from waste plastic would be tits! Not sure it would be ever practical. The was a company that opened up not far from where I live that tried doing this for profit and failed I think because their cost of heating exceeded the value of the fuel produced.
You would need to use alternative, sustainable energy for this to be profitable, whether that is direct solar, solar panels, wind or water turbines, etc.
Could you throw some hdpe into a wood gasifier to increase the fuel output?
Have you been following NatureJab's channels progress with his pyrolysis plans?
Question: If i ran a dry distill with a insulated can, would it improve the efficiency?
Yes. Less heat going into the environment = more going into the charge.
could you further break down the oil to get more refined oils?
So is this a mixture of different pertol's or can this be used as is for diesel?
I know people mentioned before about using a lot of fuel to create another fuel.. but approx. how much energy would you need for pyrolysis, lets say to turn 1 kg wood or plastic like in this video to a liquid (fuel)??
Do you think that a recycling and or waste management facility can essentially follow the same energy model as steel or concrete in turning trash into graphene and fuel?
I know installed on site solar will help, but that’s just not enough.
I often thought that hydrogen from offshore wind, wave, and solar farms would not only help clean up those energy requirements from those facilities (besides the boilers in chemical plants) but it could also help power pyrolysis and making/graphene
What do you think of Germany’s hydrogen model? Do you think using hydrogen to store renewable energy and make it portable is economically viable? Or using it in heavy industry, like how graphene needs to be made?
Hi Rob from Winnipeg CANADA. "stupid" question , but I assume we get MORE FUEL coming OUT of the process THAN the fuel USED to heat the process? And how much more using this plastic as an example. Thanks in advance!
Good point. Does it yield more energy?
On paper, the process requires about 15% of the energy you get from the output. In practice, the real number depends on your process and kit. If your feedstock plastic waste is wet, you energy driving off the water. If you're using an open flame burner, you lose a lot of heat in the exhaust. Last but not least you lose heat from the reactor directly. That's why he insulated it with firewool. There's also no reason you *have* to use your output energy to drive the process. With a solar concentrator, you can power the whole thing with sunshine.
Could be a better solution to pollution than holding your breath until your death 🙂. Makes the fuel more portable & clean(subject to other contaminants) than burning a plastic bag on your camp fire. How much more heat do you generally get out of the fuel than the heat you put in to pyrolise it? - or is this something to tinker with till it gives a good yield? Great ideas you have.. It might stop me watching so much YT & actually try something out 👍
Surely you have to put more energy in than you get out?
No toxics fumes, I can do it in my kitchen too?,
Is the producting cost ok?
off topic rob but you may have the answer .. how much does a fuel powered electric generator powering an modern ev motor gain or lose efficiency per joule ? in my mind if gas generators provide electricity too our houses is there a difference?
You should do coal next.
Guessing that your feed stock can is about a liter, or near a U.S. quart. I'm wondering how much heavy fuel (diesel, kerosene, parafin, veg oil) burned in a stove would it take to distill a liter of hdpe?
It would be orders of magnitude easier to just burn less desirable plastics, junk, ect, as a driving fuel, rather than distilling it just to burn it later in that way.
Will this process create enough fuel to supply itself along with producing more to use for something else?
So use methanol fuel to turn plastic into methanol to use as fuel to turn plastic into methanol…..etc.
Doing some reading on my own a fair while back, I found a lot of concerns surrounding the formation of dioxins, but not much of what I've read has really puts their formation and risks into perspective. As far as I can tell, they're the main reason why you want to do this with an inert atmosphere in the reaction vessel, but any idea if it's really a serious concern?
You potentially could put argon in the can, or helium, or carbon dioxide which is easy to make pressurized and fill the container before adding heat.
Dioxins in this context means 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin and related compounds. They are bio accumulating carcinogens that form from pyrolysis of PVC. Non oxygen containing dioxin like compounds can also form and they are just as dangerous (chlorinated biphenyl, chlorobenzenes,...). There are ways to scrub it (CaO, NaS) but you should just avoid it and stick to LDPE, HDPE and PP.
@@l0I0I0I0 True, but that adds to the cost to produce the fuel. At that point and for the complexity added, may as well move to a different method for plastics using a proper sealed reaction vessel for high pressures. Still doesn't really address what issues with dioxins really exist though.
@@b.t.jevsevar Ah, good to know. Thanks. I've heard it mentioned to keep the process free of PVC, but it feels like there were other issues still involving dioxins outside PVC. Plenty possible I'm missremembering something though.
@@b.t.jevsevar I think you have made a GREAT point that is way undervalued and not emphasized!!! TY for sharing. I'm not a chemist and these things need to be emphasized.