Introducing “Cold Plasma Pyrolysis” – converting plastic to money, energy or fertilizer
Yesterday I posted this:
The UN Environment Assembly is about to pass binding legislation on 175 nations t address plastic pollution. “The fifth session (INC-5) is scheduled for 25 November to 1 December 2024 in Busan, Republic of Korea.”
There is probably some verbiage around recycling of, especially, single use plastics, but there will be no mention of “Cold Plasma Pyrolysis”.
Here’s how the AI from Brave browser describes its key characteristics:
1 :” Cold Plasma Pyrolysis Method
Cold plasma pyrolysis is a novel technique for decomposing waste plastics into valuable chemicals and fuels. It combines conventional heating with cold plasma, reducing the energy required for the process. This technology has gained attention as a sustainable method for waste treatment and resource recovery.
Key Characteristics:
1. Low Temperature: Cold plasma pyrolysis operates at temperatures between 500°C to 600°C, significantly lower than traditional pyrolysis methods.
2. Non-Thermal Plasma: Cold plasma is a high-energy gas that breaks down complex molecules into simpler ones without high temperatures, making it an environmentally friendly option.
3. Minimal Pollutants: Unlike traditional pyrolysis, cold plasma pyrolysis produces minimal quantities of harmful by-products, such as CO2.
4. High Efficiency: This process can recover valuable chemicals like hydrogen, methane, and ethylene from waste plastics, which can be used as clean fuels.
Methane, hydrogen and ethylene are each worth money and can be used to generate energy or feedstock by the chemical industry!
Here’s a link to an article covering research at the Iowa State ad the UK’s Newcastle Universities.
https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/more-plastics-may-be-recycled-with-plasma
“Nonthermal plasma—also called cold plasma—is unique because it mainly produces hot, highly energetic electrons by applying an electric field to a gas. The resulting particles are great for blasting apart the chemical bonds of plastic, said researchers at the University of Newcastle, England, who are also studying cold-plasma recycling.”
“The Iowa State researchers are investigating the most efficient plastic-films recycling technique by combining their plasma technique with traditional biological recycling methods, Xianglan said.
“Cold-plasma and traditional recycling can help cut the amount of plastic waste clogging landfills,” she added.”
“At Newcastle, Phan and her group are investigating a process for cold plasma pyrolysis that operates at 500 °C to 600 °C. It combines conventional heating and cold plasma, which means the process requires much less energy. Pyrolysis is the process in which materials are combusted in a low-oxygen environment and converted into gases such as hydrogen, methane, and ethylene.
The process can be used to recover ethylene from high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which is used in objects such as plastic bottles and piping, Bia added.
The Newcastle researchers found that 55 times more ethylene was recovered from HDPE using their cold-plasma method as compared to conventional pyrolysis. About 24 percent of plastic weight was converted from HDPE directly into valuable products, she added.
With cold plasma plastics recycling, it may yet be possible to realize the true value of plastic waste, and turn it into something clean and useful, Phan said.”
Maybe in another five years or so, ALL discarded plastic will be turned into valuable components. Now if only there was some way to apply the process to micro- and nano-plastic particles I the waterways, seas ad oceans!
Onwards!!!
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After a jump drive belonging to USN was found floating in the harbour, packed with unencrypted secret data, the USN began equipping all ships with a made in Montreal plasma Annihilator that converts all garbage into organic gases and an obsidian like glass. The gases are burned by the ship.