[Bucco]

Originally Posted by twinklesweep

This is the email message I received with this YouTube link:

Subject: Japanese Ingenuity -- Save your plastic ~~~ even styrene

Very interesting.... This is one of the most amazing ... break-throughs in technology I have ever seen!!! Why aren't we doing this now????! A case of Japanese ingenuity and perseverance!

Man invents machine to convert plastic into oil - YouTube

And this is what I wrote back:

Not to sound too cynical, but why aren't we doing a lot of things? For example, in Scandinavia, the bulk of their electricity is produced via wind power. In parts of Canada and South America, mass transit buses operate on natural gas or liquid petroleum, both domestically available, rather than gasoline, made from imported oil. We had the opportunity to develop solar power in the 1980s, but at that time it was squashed.... This simple machine is remarkable, but in our world, at least at the present time, I suspect it's another "if only"....

I am curious what others think of a device like this and the meaning of "recycling" as it relates to it.

Here is a bit of detail on your video and the other companies trying the same thing here in the USA.

Pros and cons I suppose from what I can read !!


"Man Invented a Machine to Convert Waste Plastic into Oil and Fuel - Facts"

"According to a 2012 study prepared for the American Chemistry Council, by the research organization RTI International, these Pyrolysis conversion technologies that turn plastic waste into fuel have developed to the point where they are likely to be commercially viable in just 5-10 years."

"The Pros:

All those dirty waste plastics going into landfill and leaching chemicals can be avoided by this process. It can be utilized in a better way.
Saves both energy and carbon emissions, and depending on regional landfill costs, it can also be more cost efficient.

The Cons:

In long term, there may be environmental risk from the gas emissions, the impurities and potentially toxic compounds that will be left behind in this process.
If this oil production process becomes successful, use of plastic may not be put on check."

"Regarding the future of this plastic to oil conversion, the RTI study concludes saying:

"The future of these technologies will depend heavily on the success of first-generation facilities, but some successes are already coming to fruition. Two facilities have off-take agreements, and almost all of the surveyed vendors have recently received awards for innovation and/or clean energy solutions. Conversion technologies should be considered an emerging, viable option for managing non-recycled plastics and MSW (municipal solid waste) in the near future."

So only time and development in these technologies will tell us how efficient, safe and profitable these conversion processes can be.

Man Invented a Machine to Convert Waste Plastic into Oil and Fuel - Facts-HoaxOrFact.com Analysis.

"Several companies have; patents for this sort of thing go back into the late 90's. Really, anything made of carbon you can make into straight-chain hydrocarbons. Coal-to-gasoline processes have been around since the 1930s - it's just a matter of energetic and economic sustainability".

Converting plastic back into oil - snopes.com