I'm not a scientist, nor do I play one on TV, but when I hear of technology that sounds promising, I like to see it. Converting plastic into oil fit that bill. Last week I spent a couple of hours at Envion's demonstration plastic-to-oil plant at the trash sorting station in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Good thing it's not Smell-O-Vision -- the dump has a sweet/sour smell that at times was quite strong. I didn't notice any smell from the Envion generator, and the system is mostly contained.
I spoke with Envion CEO Michael Han, whose background is on Wall Street. He's trying to prove the system can work and is economical for state and local governments as well as waste management companies.
But these days, that may be a hard sell. While Montgomery County is hosting Envion for its demonstration project, it has no plans to make the arrangement permanent. The County says it doesn't have the space or the money right now. Bill Wolpin, editorial director at "Waste Age," is skeptical local governments or private companies would invest in the technology. He says, "They just want to get rid of the plastic as cheaply as possible."
Comments
We think of plastics in terms of pop bottles, plastic bags, plastic spoons, etc.; but there are tons of products that are petroleum based such as carpets, car dash boards and bumpers, building materials, etc. If the basic process could be expanded to include these materials it might have more return for investment. Also, if it could be linked into producing more high quality products, such as premium lubricants, or other products more valuable than fuels, it might be more profitable.
tt and RI Gary -- You might want to check out Stephanie's broadcast story for more information on the topic. Here's the link to the transcript: Plastic May Be The Newest Fuel Find
I didn't see any info about the waste effects of converting plastics back to oil. Are harmful substances emitted in the process? I agree that reducing our consumption of plastic is extremely important. However, I am pleased that innovative solutions to our overuse of plastics and oil are being explored.
This story doesn't say what type of plastic can be converted, that is a key point but most plastics being made from oil products it makes sense that they can be converted back. The biggest question is, can it be done at a profit?,if so the plastic industry will be the first to jump on the band wagon.
As I recall, Mr.Han claimed that the recovered oil could be used as gasoline,kerosine, diesel fuel, jet fuel, et al, a universal fuel, which is an impossibility as each product has its own set of physical specifications and performance characteristics which do not overlap.Without knowing the physical characteristics of Mr.Han's oil exactly what its best usage would be for the consumer.
This is a solution to a problem that shouldn't exist. We are consuming and wasting far too much plastic. What seems like a cheap way to make our lives better is really starting to look like a big mistake.
Everyone needs to look at their own lives for ways to reduce plastic waste. There are some really easy steps, like bring reusable cloth bags to the grocery store and drinking tap water intead of bottled.
It seems a perfect pairing to municipal natural-gas-powered vehicles such as buses. You no longer have to pay someone to take your trash away and wreck acres of land by burying it, and you have a source of power. Opponents of TDP decry its high cost per barrel, but the fact of the matter is that you're solving one problem and mitigating another, and focusing solely on post per barrel ignores that benefit.