Project Name: Plastic to fuel
Project Theme: Industry
Aim of the project: Estimates suggest 200 billion pounds of plastic is produced every year. Due to the technical limitations or inconvenience of recycling, only a fraction of that material resurfaces in new plastic products.The shifting of the resource base for organic chemicals from fossil fuels to renewable resources creates a unique opportunity for shifting plastics from their current unsustainable course to a more sustainable life cycle.
Scientific principle involved: The process involves pyrolysis of waste plastics at high temperatures for breaking molecules and catalytic conversion followed by condensation to liquefy to get gasoline or diesel or aromatics.
Material Used: We require simple material to transform plastic to black gold which are a nichrome wire, a closed container with an opening on the top, a covering for the container with a hole to pass the vapor, some rubber tubes, another container to keep in the formed plastofuel, and an electricity port for the plastic to heat. The main thing which is required is HDPE plastic which is High Density Polyethylene
Procedure followed: A non oxygen environment is created to melt plastic. Once it is melted it creates vapours, the vapours are then sent through a cooling tube and it will condense to form fuel .The exit of the cooling pipe is taken to a bubbler containing water to capture the fuel. On the bottom of the cooling tube is a steel reservoir that will collect all the liquid and has a release valve on the bottom so that a liquid fuel can be poured out.
Unique features of the exhibit: This device works on electricity and has six nichrome wires as heating elements. This process makes a liquid fuel that can be used as a multifuel, that means it can be used on diesel engines and also on gasoline engines. From 1 kg polyolefin plastic, 650-700ml petrol along with LPG or 450-500
ml aromatics along with LPG could be produced.
Applications in different domains of life: The shifting of resource base for organic chemicals from fossil fuels to renewable resources creates a unique opportunity for shifting plastics from their current unsustainable course to a more sustainable life cycle. It can be also used in the principle of green chemistry. Using this a very high percentage of post consumer recycled content into safe and usable organic matter .Petroleum is considered as black gold because of its various uses in the life of common man, by generating fuel we can treat the waste which is generated from plastic industries which will not only strive to save the environment but also prove to be beneficial for the man.
Future Scope of the Project: It has great scope in future. It generates the usable form of fuel which will prove to be a substitute of non renewable petroleum. Industrial waste can be treated using this kind of process that helps them to convert plastic waste into useable form. It can also create scope for green chemistry and petroleum generation plants.
Name of the School: Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.
