How to turn plastic waste into diesel fuel cheaply

[chacowako]

Hi guys im stuck at a problem I cant find a way to check the fluid level of my reactor.
Ive checked probes on the internet i can only find rated up to 200c for 450c Im having a hard time I found 1 that can reach 900c but costs $1000 !!! Way over my budget.
any genius got a solution? I would be very grateful
also i read on previous posts that an o2 sensor is used? Ive read on internet I have no idea how it should work.

[Excalibur]

I have used copper successfully on my reflux lid, though it only gets to 350C as the target temperature. The gasket is as Wheels says, a narrow strip perhaps 3 or 4mm wide clamps the gasket with 8 x 10mm bolts( I think). It has been repeatedly reused over and over. Sometimes I annealed the copper, othertimes not. It's a good idea to treat the joint like a typical industrial flange, tighten evenly and in stages, perhaps diagonal stepping of the bolts in turn like a car cylinder head.
Better to over-engineer the parts in the hot zones.

[wheels]

Flat copper gaskets do not work!! Been there and tried it!!A small exposure leak through will disrupt the process.It may work on a small system once, but not good for the future.

Forget trying to make a wide flat area as a gasket. Any Gasket works by being squashed and the same applies to copper. It is better to have a narrow strip of copper and crush it as the plate is pulled down by the bolts. The Gasket must be able to deform and mold to the surface irregularities of the metal surface. It is also important to pull the lid down evenly and the use of a torque wrench is worth the effort.

[rozier56]

copper gasket

Flat copper gaskets do not work!! Been there and tried it!!A small exposure leak through will disrupt the process.It may work on a small system once, but not good for the future.

[wheels]

Hi, Im new to the game.. Im also building a Pyrolysis Project after reading most of this thread. The problem is where I live it is very difficult to find parts so I use what I have.. I was wondering, instead of using the "V" Groove flanges would a copper gasket be sufficient with normal flanges? I have a got a few old fire extinguishers made of copper which I want to cut up, flatten to make into gaskets??

Providing you use only PP and PE plastics, copper will be OK. Only the edge is exposed and you will probably notice some corrosion on that edge, but it should not be of any issue. But do not use copper pipe for any of the pipe work. It can block up with copper sulphate and also can act as a Catalyst and some hydrocarbons can be turned into things that you don't want.

[MangiPNG]

Hi, Im new to the game.. Im also building a Pyrolysis Project after reading most of this thread. The problem is where I live it is very difficult to find parts so I use what I have.. I was wondering, instead of using the "V" Groove flanges would a copper gasket be sufficient with normal flanges? I have a got a few old fire extinguishers made of copper which I want to cut up, flatten to make into gaskets??

[wheels]

I am not sure why, but for some reason I have had the flange on mine leak. I am lifting the lid tomorrow and will see what happened. It is possible that the Tank has "settled" after being heated. I machined the top and bottom flange, then welded the bottom flange to the tank, then lapped the two together to get a perfect seal with Valve grinding paste. There was a slight warp from the welding which I expected. Before I ran the machine, I tested with a vacuum test and it passed OK. Fired up the machine and after some time when the machine reached around 450 to 500Deg, it started leaking. I shut the machine down and let it cool, then removed the lid and could see where the flange was not making contact with one another. I wondered if the heat may have allowed the weld to "relax" or de-stress and this has allowed the Flange to go back to the before lapping shape. So I decided the quick and easy solution was to use some exhaust gasket material and then bolted it all back together and ran the machine to full temp. The Gasket material decided it was going to leak. The material is a Graphite material with Aluminium(sorry that's how we spell it here) inbetween. But it didn't seem to want to seal. So tomorrow I will remove the lid and inspect what has taken place. Maybe lap the Flanges further and see if I can get a good metal to metal seal.

[Excalibur]

All the v-groove flanges I've seen have been custom made. They don't use a gasket so are very economic. I googled the tongue and groove type and it shows that type using a gasket. I think they would be suitable though I know of none in use. Because the process uses high heat and virtually zero pressure, for safety I suggest thick flanges of say 20mm.

Nothing ever broke because it was too strong...

[chacowako]

1 last question is the tongue and groove flange design acceptable. People here don't understand what a v groove is...

[chacowako]

Wheels thank you for your feedback. I guess that's why people experienced in this business takes 2 stages. Its what ive seen in Chinese plants and Asads commercial plant. I guess its results are just too unstable for a 1 pass plant.
1 pyrolyze the plastic
2 distill the oil.
What kind of plant do you have?

[wheels]

One point I forgot. Zeolite needs a little help to make it work efficiently. Firstly it needs to be Acid washed. Add Hydrochloric Acid (also known as Muriatic Acid, or Spirit of Salts) to the Zeolite and stir it around with a stick and then leave it for a few hrs. Then rinse it well with fresh water. Leave it to dry out in the Sun and then if you can, heat it in an Oven at a fairly high temp for a few hrs. This will drive off any moisture trapped inside it. It is then clean and dry and ready for use.
When you use it as a catalyst, it needs to be heated and the Vapor passed through it. This is where it starts getting complicated.
First thing you need to do is obtain an idea of what kind of fractions you are producing. The Fractions will vary for every design of pyrolysis plant out there. Temperatures, speed of gas flow, pipe length, Diameter and path and many other influences all have an affect on what takes place with cracking and reforming of the Hydrocarbons. So you need a sample for your particular Machine, not what others may get as a result.
Then you need to work out what it is that you actually want as a Specific Gravity and run trial and error tests with variations in quantity of Zeolite, temperature of vessel the Zeolite is housed in and so on. Alter things till you get the kind of output you want.
The SG of the hydrocarbon may not be the total answer though. Because when you crack Hydrocarbons, you get Alkenes and Alkanes, usually in a ratio of two to on e respectively. Basically one Long chain breaks into three. One medium and two shorter chains. The medium length one is an Alkane and the two shorter are Alkenes. Alkenes are better known as Olifins. These are unsaturated chains. Unsaturated means the chain has open ends and this makes them want to latch on to things. This can be good when they are used in Industry because that means they are very reactive. So you can make stuff with them. Such as Plastic, or Epoxides and so on. But they also can have bad reactions too. They can latch on to Oxygen, causing them to Oxidize. By the way, a Fuel stabilizer is a chemical that likes to lock onto those open ends and close them, so as Oxygen has nothing to lock to.
Alkanes, known as Paraffin's, are saturated Chains. They are closed chains so nothing else can bond to them, making them a stable Hydrocarbon.
For us backyarders, there is no easy way to know what kind of hydrocarbons you are actually getting, apart from things happening like maybe the resultant fuel solidifying to solid Paraffin when it cools, or the Fuel oxidizing and becoming very dark in colour as time goes on. Most especially when left in sunlight.

[wheels]

Hi wheels can ordinary zeolite be used as catalyst I can get pure zeolite here for $0.25 per kilo?
Also I have huge access to industrial lime which is even cheaper the zeolite I read in the forums that you can add 2-5%? do you know its effects?

I would prefer to use industrial lime together with zeolite since its cheap here.
If i could opt out to use red clay I would because I would be the one to mine it which would be a pain.

Zeolite is the best choice. Although there are some 40 different kinds, the main make up is Alumino Silicate. One type has been found to be the best suited for cracking Oil, but the others will still work and are still better than most other materials. Zeolite is also used to remove Sulphur from Oil via a Catalytic process. But it's complex.
Do not add Calcium. That is an alkaline and won't work.

[chacowako]

Hi wheels can ordinary zeolite be used as catalyst I can get pure zeolite here for $0.25 per kilo?
Also I have huge access to industrial lime which is even cheaper the zeolite I read in the forums that you can add 2-5%? do you know its effects?

I would prefer to use industrial lime together with zeolite since its cheap here.
If i could opt out to use red clay I would because I would be the one to mine it which would be a pain.

[wheels]

Patent CN102559232A - Process method of removing odor of pyrolysis oil of waste rubber and waste ... - Google Patents

this seems to be a good catalyst. hope someone can test this out

I should add, the NaOH is not a catalyst. A catalyst is something that brakes the Hydrocarbon chains. For Hydrocarbons, the best method is to use what is called a Solid Acid that has free positive Ions. NaOH is a very strong Alkaline, not an acid.
The smell produced from Pyrolysing Rubber materials, such as tyres, is a completely different thing again. It is usually the Sulphur compounds that cause a terrible smell with the Fuel.
If you try Pyrolysing Ewaste Plastics, you will get close to 100% Styrene which stinks, because it is an aromatic Hydrocarbon. You can not remove the odor from that. It is also a very dangerous plastic to vaporize because it creates Hydrogen Cyanide and Hydrogen Chloride which are both highly toxic and corrosive. It is best to stick with PP and PE plastics. Safer and easier to work with.

[wheels]

Patent CN102559232A - Process method of removing odor of pyrolysis oil of waste rubber and waste ... - Google Patents

this seems to be a good catalyst. hope someone can test this out

This method does not affect the smell. It is quite possible that the use of the word Smell is a translation issue between Chinese and English. NaOH will neutralize Acids, but only when the Acids are in a liquid state and only if Acids are present anyway. PP and PE do not produce a great deal of Acids. The clay is then being used as a very fine filter and will take out a high degree of particulates, which will aid in creating a much clearer look fuel. However, it is a slow process and the Clay blocks up and needs replacing regularly. Multipass Centrifuge is a much better idea and is much faster, require far less down time during maintenance.