When it comes to environment, plastic always has been a matter of concern. Now the researchers have come up with a selcouth solution; a combustion system which transforms the waste into a fuel identical to natural gas.
The process was crafted by Yiannis Levendis, whose expertise lie in combustion and device design. He has already led many clean energy projects. Prof.Levendis is a distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at Northeastern University, Boston.
The patent pending process consists of a simple step while burning plastic; pyrolytic gasification which involves heating up the waste to a temperature of 800 degrees Celsius in a completely oxygen-free surrounding. This transmutes plastic into a gaseous state which is then mixed with air before burning as a clean fuel.
Everybody knows burning plastic creates toxic byproducts; but not everyone knows plastic contains the same amount of energy per pound as a premium fuel.
Identical results were derived from combustion of biomass as well. This game changing technique may soon turn out to be a key solution to our global energy demand.
In the year 2011, global plastic production corresponded to approximately 280 million tons and just a puny amount of the waste was recovered for recycling. The remaining was dumped in landfills or oceans; resulting in immeasurable deaths of seabirds and marine mammals.
