Plastic shopping bags can be converted into diesel, natural gas and other useful petroleum products, according to a new study. Furthermore, the by-product can be blended with existing ultra-low-sulfur diesels and biodiesels.
To turn waste plastic bags into a usable fuel requires a process that involves heating the bags in an oxygen-free chamber (a process called pyrolysis). This involves the simultaneous change of chemical composition and physical phase, and is irreversible.
The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements pyro "fire" and lysis "separating." The next step of the process involves a form of distillation which extracts the diesel like material that was used to manufacture the bags in the first place and re-converts it back into fuel.
digitaljournal.com»
To turn waste plastic bags into a usable fuel requires a process that involves heating the bags in an oxygen-free chamber (a process called pyrolysis). This involves the simultaneous change of chemical composition and physical phase, and is irreversible.
The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements pyro "fire" and lysis "separating." The next step of the process involves a form of distillation which extracts the diesel like material that was used to manufacture the bags in the first place and re-converts it back into fuel.
digitaljournal.com»