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Converting plastics to fuel using solar energy Converting Plastics to Fuel using
Solar Energy
Article in AIP Conference Proceedings · October 2022
DOI: 10.1063/5.0108262
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Converting plastics to fuel using solar energy
Cite as: AIP Conference Proceedings 2527, 030013 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0108262
Published Online: 14 October 2022
Senthil Kumar Srinivasan, Uma Mageswari Deivasigamani, Bibin Chidambaram, et al.
AIP Conference Proceedings 2527, 030013 (2022); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0108262
© 2022 Author(s).
2527, 030013
Converting Plastics to Fuel using Solar Energy
Senthil Kumar Srinivasan1,a), Uma Mageswari Deivasigamani2,b), Bibin
Chidambaram1,c),Guru Prasaath Raju1,d), Yuvaraaj Kamaraj1,e), Chella Sudheer
Manikantan1,f), Kishore Raj Sivasankar1,g), Jeyakumar Rengaraj3,h)
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, RMK College of Engineering and Technology, Chennai, India.
2
3
Department of Science and Humanities, RMK Engineering College, Chennai, India.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Krishna College of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore,
Tamilnadu-641008
a)
Corresponding author: senthilkumar@rmkcet.ac.in
b)
sdu.mba@rmkcec.ac.in
bibinmech@rmkcet.ac.in
d)
guru19me008@rmkcet.ac.in
e)
yuva19me034@rmkcet.ac.in
f)
chel19me005@rmkcet.ac.in
g)
kish19me017@rmkcet.ac.in
h)
jeyakumar@skcet.ac.in
c)
Abstract. Waste Management is a very important problem for the whole world. Plastic waste management is a major
problem for today's generation. if we ignore this then in future the world would be covered with plastics and in India, the
fuel rate is kept on increasing nowadays so our project deals with both and give an alternate solution .as we have the
process of converting light plastics into fuel. Because hard plastics can be recycled to other products whereas light
plastics are a huge problem s it cannot be recycled or reused by us. so, we are going to convert light plastics into fuel. and
many had worked in this and also had succeeded but they use fossil fuels in the conversion process which is using fossil
fuel and getting fossil fuel which is a non-profitable method. the plastics can be converted to fuel by heating the plastics
at 380 to 400-degree Celsius not burning them as it creates harmful gases. and we have to heat it with the absence of
oxygen because in the presence of oxygen it catches fire. For heating we are going to use parabolic monocrystalline solar
panels with concentrators.
INTRODUCTION
Plastics are an inseparable part of our everyday existence. It is produced on a large scale globally and its production
is over 150 million tonsannually. According to the CPCB, India produces approximately 5.6 million tons of plastic
garbage each year. Plastic controls our lives in a variety of ways, including shopping and rubbish bags, packaging
films, fluid containers, clothes, toys, furniture, material wrapping, packaging materials, beverage bottles, domestic,
and industrial items, and so on. Due to the enormous consumption of plastics, the waste generated from plastic is
also huge.
The recycling rate of plastic is high except in municipal areas. There are some ingenious approaches by municipal
corporations in Maharashtra in the recycling of plastics. They convert plastic waste into fuel. One such plant is in
Pune, Rudra Environmental Solution (India) Ltd. Pune Municipal Corporation also started a similar plant in the
Pune's Dhankewadi ward. This facility transforms 9000 kg of plastic into 5400 liters of gasoline every month.
International Conference on Advancements in Materials and Manufacturing Engineering – ICAMME 2021
AIP Conf. Proc. 2527, 030013-1–030013-8; https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0108262
Published by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-4202-3/$30.00
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Because plastics are very inexpensive and easily available, our society has developed a use and trash culture. Plastic
waste management has become a global issue due to its non-biodegradability. As the temporary solution of landfills
has reached its maximum capacity, we must move towards a permanent solution that is recycling.
DISCUSSION
Usage of plastics and Production of plastics waste
Plastics are one of the finest innovations of all time. There are used in various ways. They are lightweight, do not
rust, are cost-efficient, and conserves natural resources in some cases. Plastics conserve energy and reduce CO2
emissions. To replace all plastics in all uses and consider the life cycle, 23 million tons of crude oil would be
required every year as shown in Fig.1. Due of their non-biodegradable nature, plastics have now become a major
hazard.
Figure 1. plastics consumed by various countries SOURCE: Google
Sources and properties of plastic wastes:
They are classified into industrial and municipal plastic wastes.
Municipal plastic wastes (MSW)
The municipal plastic wastes are collected as home garbage and hence fall under the category of municipal solid
wastes. Plastic containers, packaging, throwaway cups, plates, fridge liners, electronic cases, pipe, drink's bottles,
cushioning foams, thermal insulation foams, agricultural feed bags, fertilizer bags, vehicle wrecks, and other items
fall into this category. Plastics recovered from MSW include polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene,
polyethylene, terephthalate, and others.Plastic separation is required in municipal plastic recycling. Mechanical
separation equipment is used to separate polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride, which have a higher density than water,
from polyethylene, polypropylene, and expanded polystyrene, which have a lower density. It is still impossible to
mechanically categories it (Fig.2). So waste separation in the home is required, such as paper in a separate bin and
food trash in a separate bin, wood in a separate bin, and noncombustible materials such as metals, ceramics, and
plastics in a separate bin.
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Figure 2. Quantity of wastes, Source: Google
Industrial plastic wastes
Large-scale plastics manufacture, processing, and packaging produce industrial plastic waste. The majority of
industrial plastic wastes have good physical properties, are relatively clean, contamination-free, and generally
available in huge numbers. Municipal plastic trash is heterogeneous in nature, but industrial plastic waste is uniform.
Thermal cracking into hydrocarbons is an appropriate method of recycling in this circumstance as shown in Fig.3.
Figure 3. Plastic Waste Management SOURCE: Google
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PYROLYSIS OF PLASTIC WASTE TO LIQUID FUEL
Pyrolysis is the controlled burning of a material in the absence of oxygen. During the pyrolysis of plastics, the
macromolecular structures of polymers are broken down into smaller molecules called oligomers.
The endothermic process of pyrolysis of polyolefin’s necessitates temperatures of at least 350–500 degrees Celsius.
At lower temperatures, thermal cracking causes a decrease in octane value and a rise in residue content.
These pyrolysis gaseous products are not appropriate for use as fuel products; additional refinement is required
before they can be utilized as fuel products. Some researchers have discovered ways to enhance waste polyolefin
thermal pyrolysis without using catalysts as shown in Fig.4.
Figure 4. pyrolysis
SOURCE: Google
PROCESS DESIGN
It is designed in a way where the mixed waste plastics, which is collected from household and industries will be
cleaned and separated from other substitutes like iron fillings, other metal items by using metal detectors .and then
plastics are dried up for removing dirt and drying the plastics .our next step is to compress plastics to smaller
volumes, now the plastics are moved to the reactor and heated up to 380 to 400 degree Celsius we should not burn
the plastics because burning plastics will produce harmful gases like sulfur. so we are just going heating the plastics
by solar energy normal using of solar panels cannot create heat up to 380 to 400 degree Celsius so we are going to
shape the solar panels in parabolic shape as shown in Fig.5.
Figure 5. Parabolic Solar panel SOURCE: Google
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As we are using parabolic shape solar panels we are concentrating the solar rays at a certain point so we can achieve
up to 500 degrees Celsius, now we get our required amount of heat to heat our plastic which we use renewable
energy to heat the plastics which is our innovation here, very important thing in this is we have heat the plastics with
the absence of oxygen if we heat it with oxygen then the plastics will burn which result to produce harmful gases by
heating the plastics we get the poly fuel which has even high calorific value than diesel and petrol which somewhat
light yellowish color. Further reefing the poly fuel, we can use it to IC engines also if needed a high efficiency as
shown in Fig.6.
Figure 6. Calorific Value
SOURCE: Google
As we said that poly fuel has a greater Calorific value the above table proves our statement is correct as shown in
Fig.7.
Figure 7. Comparison Of Poly Fuel To GasolineSOURCE: Google
Comparison of regular gasoline and plastic waste fuel is given in the above table the net calorific value of regular
gasoline is 10460 whereas plastic waste fuel net calorific value is 10498 which is higher than the regular gasoline.
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In plastic wastes there many factors which depend on the efficiency of poly fuel. in wastes there many types of
plastics are present so below given table describes what products can be obtained from waste plastics as shown in
Fig.8.
Figure 8. Thermal Decomposition SOURCE: Google
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
Advantages in plastic waste fuel
•
•
•
•
•
Cheap
The fuels produced this way may be customised to a specific use, such as transportation.
Makes them suitable alternatives to fossil fuels.
When burned, it emits less carbon than fossil fuels.
The potential to extend the materials utilised in this process to include metal trash and other
materials that aren't easily recyclable is exciting.
Disadvantages in plastic waste fuel
•
•
•
•
The energy recovered from this waste causes health concerns.
Nitrous oxides, sulphur dioxides, particulate matter, and other hazardous pollutants can be released
during the combustion of solid fuels.
Sweden is concerned because it relies largely on rubbish imports from other European countries.
The recycling sector is concerned that the economics of other waste-to-fuel processes, such as solid
waste-to-fuel, may be harmed or undermined by plastic waste-to-fuel.
This procedure necessitates rigorous preparation in order to ensure that the appropriate rules are in
place to ensure safety while also balancing the demands of existing recycling systems.
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CONCLUSION
Plastic waste recycling and a dearth of liquid fuel in developing countries like India may both be addressed by
converting waste plastic into liquid gasoline. It is possible to thermally breakdown plastic in a cost-effective manner.
Temperature, pressure, catalyst amount, and other variables can all help to boost product yield. The fuel generated in
this experiment was similar to conventional diesel fuel used in cars. As a result, it may be stated that "poly fuel" may
be a future alternative fuel. The final residue is utilized in road construction. Because no waste is produced
throughout the process, it is known as a zero-discharge or green process that does not pollute the environment.
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