35 votes

Pioneering method turns plastic into fuel with 95% efficiency

7 comments

  1. tibpoe
    Link
    Looks like the main innovation here is their process allows removing the chlorine from the plastic without a separate dechlorination step. That this process creates gasoline-like fuel is sort of a...

    Looks like the main innovation here is their process allows removing the chlorine from the plastic without a separate dechlorination step. That this process creates gasoline-like fuel is sort of a happy side-effect, since dechlorinated plastic can already be burned for energy.

    A preprint of this paper can be found here.

    18 votes
  2. [3]
    post_below
    Link
    The paper is paywalled, but from the abstract it sounds inexpensive and scalable enough to be profitable. Which means no economic barrier, which is usually the problem with plastics recycling. I...

    The paper is paywalled, but from the abstract it sounds inexpensive and scalable enough to be profitable. Which means no economic barrier, which is usually the problem with plastics recycling.

    I feel like I must be missing something though, because that would be miraculous. Front page above the fold level.

    13 votes
    1. skybrian
      Link Parent
      It does appear in Science, which is very good for a scientific paper. But the question is what happens after the paper is published. Does someone start a company? Do existing companies do...

      It does appear in Science, which is very good for a scientific paper.

      But the question is what happens after the paper is published. Does someone start a company? Do existing companies do something? That's not up to the scientists. (Unless they are the ones to launch a startup.)

      So I wonder if I will ever read about future developments in the news. There will be more press once there's a business.

      6 votes
    2. kingofsnake
      Link Parent
      If developing countries could get ahold of this, all of that North American trash that's been shipped over would replace the need for fuel from dicey sources. Eager to see a non-paywalled version.

      If developing countries could get ahold of this, all of that North American trash that's been shipped over would replace the need for fuel from dicey sources. Eager to see a non-paywalled version.

      5 votes
  3. [3]
    Notcoffeetable
    Link
    Scientifically interesting! though I’m unsure if more efficiently transferring stable hydrocarbons into burnable hydrocarbons is a productive result? For sure we have a plastic problem, but is the...

    Scientifically interesting! though I’m unsure if more efficiently transferring stable hydrocarbons into burnable hydrocarbons is a productive result?

    For sure we have a plastic problem, but is the atmosphere the right place to put it? (That’s a rhetorical question.)

    11 votes
    1. umbrae
      Link Parent
      I had the same thought, but maybe the net benefit of mining less fossil fuels and the energy expenditure involved with that while we convert the surplus of plastics into fuel, while we transition...

      I had the same thought, but maybe the net benefit of mining less fossil fuels and the energy expenditure involved with that while we convert the surplus of plastics into fuel, while we transition to something better, would be worth it? Not sure.

      4 votes
    2. kingofsnake
      Link Parent
      And here my stupidass figured it was a Mr. Fusion matter decompiler slaps head

      And here my stupidass figured it was a Mr. Fusion matter decompiler slaps head

      2 votes