It's no secret that we generate a phenomenal amount of garbage, especially here in the United States, and a lot of that trash consists of plastics. Plastics hit us in a number of ways. Most plastics are are produced, at least in part, from petroleum and the plastics don't decompose when put it in the ground. Now, there may finally be a solution that addresses both sides of that equation (one that doesn't consider the idea of using less plastic).
Envion has created an oil generator that consumes plastics and cracks them in a vacuum to produce light and medium oils. The process is claimed to be energy positive, with more energy available in the oil produced than it takes to crack the plastics. According to Envion, it costs about $10/barrel to generate the oil, considerably less than the current world price of crude.
A commercial unit can process 10,000 tons of plastic per year into 30,000-50,000 barrels of oil. A demonstrator is currently running at the Montgomery County Solid Waste Transfer Station in Derwood, Maryland.
[Source: PureGreenCars]
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