Students and professors at University of North Carolina Wilmington have a small contraption that they believe can simultaneously solve environmental and economic issues by turning plastic, a pollutant, into oil, a commodity. Now, those involved with the project are working to convince local business leaders and government officials to implement the concept.
The piece of equipment is called a tabletop depolymerizer, and UNCW is the first university to receive one, said Scott Davis, Plastic Ocean Project business development intern. The college partnered on the research with national nonprofit Plastic Ocean Project and PK Clean, the makers of the technology.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports, “In the United States, plastics are not made from crude oil. They are manufactured from hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) and natural gas. HGL are byproducts of petroleum refining and natural gas processing. These liquids are used as feedstocks by petrochemical manufacturers to make plastic and are used as fuels in the manufacturing process.”
Plastic Ocean Project executive director Bonnie Monteleone was the driving force behind UNCW acquiring the pyrolysis technology, Davis added. Monteleone, who also works in the chemistry department at UNCW, has completed countless expeditions to gather data and marine plastic.
Introduction of Pyrolysis Technology
Nowadays, turning plastic to oil uses pyrolysis technology. Pyrolysis is a chemical process, converting high-molecular compound into other low molecular compound by heat energy. Conversion of waste plastic into fuel oil is pyrogenic decomposition of waste plastic, depolymerizing agent and catalyst; then macromolecule waste plastic will be converted into micromolecule fuel oil. Beston plastic pyrolysis plant takes full advantage of this technology which can turn plastic into oil. The plastic oil can be used as fuel for boiler, and also can be refined into diesel or gasoline for vehicles.
Waste Plastic to Oil Machine in Beston Machinery for Sale
Beston Machinery is the leading supplier for manufacturing the machine converting plastic back into oil. Due to it uses pyrolysis technology, this plant is also called as the waste plastic pyrolysis plant. Our plants have obtained several patents and certificates after decades of innovation and development. It has been widely recognized at home and abroad, with superior performance, competitive price, high efficiency, maintenance convenience and cost saving. Our skilled professionals will supply customers with optimal all-in-one solutions required on infrastructure, installation and personnel training as well as after-sale service, ensuring minimized production cost for maximized throughput.
Technologies applied in the plastic to oil plants:
1. The first in the world to have created the new heating structure that combines the advantages of burning the reactor directly and heating the main reactor by hot air.
2. The technology of avoiding the reactor of being burnt through by reforming the furnace, which will lengthen the life span of the main reactor for 5 to 8 years and save quite amount of money for customers to maintain and update the plant.
3. The technology of improving the oil yield by another 5% compared with the traditional plant.
4. The technology of guaranteeing 100% safety in the whole working process.
5. The technology of ensuring the released gas reach the European pollution control standards.