How to turn plastic waste into diesel fuel cheaply

[mjohnson1]

thanks a lot excalibur l will try terracotta first what size u make terra cotta its good like 1cm by 1cm thanks

1cm by 1cm is fine. If you make them smaller you get more surface area and thus more catalytic affect on your material being pyrolyzed. However if you keep them at 1cm by 1cm or go as small as 2mm by 2mm you will easily be able to filter the clay out from the carbon black that is produced with a simple mesh screen.

After you filter them out you can reuse them for 1-3 batches depending on how much material your processed with them. Then, you can burn off the junk that's in the micro pores by heating them in the open air and allow combustion to take place.

What I usually do is place some catalyst at the bottom of my retort and then fill it with plastic. I'll then place the rest of the catalyst on top of the plastic creating a sandwich.

Imakebiodiesel uses his in the gas phase. In my tests, I've found that placing them directly with the plastic lowers the energy required for pyrolysis to begin. However, catalyst in the gas phase produced less coke on the catalyst.

Another catalyst you could try is perlite. It is cheap and used for gardening.

[jonathan]

retort catalyst

thanks a lot excalibur l will try terracotta first what size u make terra cotta its good like 1cm by 1cm thanks

[Excalibur]

hello excalibur did you try terra cotta pot as catalyst? how did you make fuel every kilo plastic

Yes, I had the terracotta so it looked like a good idea and worth trying. All of the batch runs I've done using terracotta have been with plastic AND waste oil mix, or waste oil alone. I think I listed the yields in previous posts.

I have some Zeolite which I'm probably going to try at some stage. It's used in aquariums and for cat litter so widely available.

[jonathan]

retort catalyst

hello excalibur did you try terra cotta pot as catalyst? how did you make fuel every kilo plastic

[jonathan]

retort catalyst

thanks excalibur l will try buy some l have 2 small pots can you tell me the size u break them please

[Excalibur]

thanks mjonhson1 its difficult to buy clay from malta can you give a link to buy from internet like ebay or can l use other material like stianless steel or glass marbles

Perhaps old terracotta clay planter pots are available? Like these I've broken these with a hammer to small bits and used them that way. Around here damaged ones are free. Otherwise I see certain old drainage pipes made from the same material.

But go ahead and try the stainless or glass marbles. I haven't tried them so I can't say how they'd be.

[jonathan]

retort catalyst

thanks mjonhson1 its difficult to buy clay from malta can you give a link to buy from internet like ebay or can l use other material like stianless steel or glass marbles

[mjohnson1]

thanks lmakebiodiesel l make one l will post photos soon but l dont know what l am going to put as catalyst l will try pieces of steel for know

Steel has no catalytic effect that im aware of. I would use some type of clay as it is cheap and readily available.

[jonathan]

retort catalyst

thanks lmakebiodiesel l make one l will post photos soon but l dont know what l am going to put as catalyst l will try pieces of steel for know

[Excalibur]

Some one emailed me to say that the link to the video on the last page did not work for him. Here it is again , I hope its ok this time.
Waste plastic to kerosene fuel - YouTube
IMB Biodiesel Processors

FYI, both the links work for me.

[imakebiodiesel]

Some one emailed me to say that the link to the video on the last page did not work for him. Here it is again , I hope its ok this time.

Waste plastic to kerosene fuel - YouTube

IMB Biodiesel Processors

[imakebiodiesel]

The Blest company dont give any information about their process so I really dont know. I have however examined their price list and their prices are frankly ridiculous.
It would be possible to assemble a processor like mine for around 1000 euro.

[jonathan]

retort catalyst

Blest Company: Plastic into Oil - buildaroo.com - YouTube what about this machine? l mean id doesnt have catalyst?

[fibuslitero]

Thank you very much for the information
Using powder is a very interesting trick...

The flange seal is a separate graphite and stainless steel gasket rated at 1000c @100bar. It cost me 6 euro to have it made and so far I have used it for 6 batches with no leakage.
The trick with seals of this kind is to rub a little graphite powder or talc on the top surface so that the lid does not stick to the seal. That way you do not tear it apart when removing the lid. With care I should think Ill get 10 - 20 batches per gasket.

[imakebiodiesel]

The flange seal is a separate graphite and stainless steel gasket rated at 1000c @100bar. It cost me 6 euro to have it made and so far I have used it for 6 batches with no leakage.
The trick with seals of this kind is to rub a little graphite powder or talc on the top surface so that the lid does not stick to the seal. That way you do not tear it apart when removing the lid. With care I should think Ill get 10 - 20 batches per gasket.