How to turn plastic waste into diesel fuel cheaply

[jonathan]

gases

i read that wmo pyrolysis produce h2s and hcl gases.so if i use water bubbler it is good for hcl? and h2s as i read it can be burned. and my other question is about plastic pyrolysis..if i use only ps.pe.hdpe and ldpe are they safe? i mean no danger gases like hcn hcl and other? because i find this post says:...Toxic by-products of pyrolysis of polystyrene (PS)
Since polystyrene is not a halogenated hydrocarbon, then the by-products of pyrolysis are going to be just petroleum vapors, which are toxic, and flammable; however, they can be effectively handled with simple condensation via a succession of air, water and ice cooled condensers. Any non-condensable hydrocarbon can be burned in a flue gas controlled burner.thanks

[Excalibur]

When making diesel from WMO, are you folks centrifuging or using seperators to take out the fine carbon particles before using in your vechiles?

I use upflow settling, aiming for 6 week duration. Then I polish with filters to 1µ.

[rozier56]

rozier56

Is HIPS (hi impact polystyrene) user friendly in our pyrolysis systems?
When making diesel from WMO, are you folks centrifuging or using seperators to take out the fine carbon particles before using in your vechiles?

[jonathan]

smell

so thanks i will do that flame trap like yours and try again..so my last question please..if i burn my fumes i will eliminate all the smell?

[Excalibur]

Flame can't travel through small gaps. Something simple would be lathe turnings /swarf inside a cannister. The system still needs to breathe so not too tightly packed.
Depending on the nature of the gases ,above a certain temperature a flame trap will become ineffective so keeping them cool is something to be mindful.
There is a pic of my flash-back arrestor (flame trap) on Blog page: Bubbler & draw-back-arrestor Orion #9 Fuel from waste oil and plastic DIY Orion: Bubbler & draw-back-arrestor Orion #9

[jonathan]

smell

excalibur when you say flame trap do you mean water bubbler?

[jonathan]

smell

thanks alot EXCALIBUR i will try to find to make simple flame trap because right now i dont have welding..if you can give me an idea its better because i dont need to make explosion..hehe thanks

[Excalibur]

hello i hope everyone is ok..i have a question if anyone can help me..i make a retort and 1 condenser to try waste oil..my proplem is the nasty smell..i dont have bubbler and i dont burn the fumes..my question is does waste oil make alot of smell? or maybe the condensor not efficient?

Cracking oil will make that nasty smell. Burning the off-gases is the usual solution. Use a flame trap.

[jonathan]

smell

sorry for my english if i dont explain it well..but i need to know if i heat waste oil and have good condensor does the smell go away? or i need to burn the fumes?

[jonathan]

smell

hello i hope everyone is ok..i have a question if anyone can help me..i make a retort and 1 condenser to try waste oil..my proplem is the nasty smell..i dont have bubbler and i dont burn the fumes..my question is does waste oil make alot of smell? or maybe the condensor not efficient?

[Excalibur]

My thoughts..
Sight glasses or sight tubes are the way to go. My diesel condenser tank has a simple clear tube with a ball valve on either end. By default and for safety the lower valve is always closed, opening it to take a reading. The tank is large and would need a particularly good run to fill it within a day session. There is no u-bend.
I've never considering air ingressing in a problem because my system runs a slight positive pressure from the bubbler and gas-jar. As soon as any drain valve, etc is open, liquid or vapor comes out so I don't think air can get in against that flow. Even if it got in, it still can't go upstream against vapor flow.
The petrol condenser has no site glass or u-bend. I drain every so often, perhaps hourly.

[wheels]

Hi crew
It just occurred to me, how do we know when to drain fuels from the various condensing tanks? We need to drain fuel before the condensing tank(s) fills up and overflows to the next one but we don't want to drain the tank before the liquid seal created by the 'U' bend in the drain pipe is in effect or air will enter the system.
I suppose we do a batch and let it cool down to the temperature that air ingress to the condensing tanks is not a problem then open the drain. If no fuel drains out then we know the liquid seal may not be deep enough yet. If fuel does drain out then we know the liquid seal is in effect and we know we can drain fuel from that tank during processing.
Other than this I guess we would need to install sight glasses in each condensing tank.
Col

Yes a sight glass is on way. I fitted a slight glass to one of my tanks. You can also have a tank that is bigger than the retort volume as another way. Or you can go by time. Ever 15mins, just drain off the produced Fuel.

[Col]

draining of fuels from various condensing tanks

Hi crew
It just occurred to me, how do we know when to drain fuels from the various condensing tanks? We need to drain fuel before the condensing tank(s) fills up and overflows to the next one but we don't want to drain the tank before the liquid seal created by the 'U' bend in the drain pipe is in effect or air will enter the system.
I suppose we do a batch and let it cool down to the temperature that air ingress to the condensing tanks is not a problem then open the drain. If no fuel drains out then we know the liquid seal may not be deep enough yet. If fuel does drain out then we know the liquid seal is in effect and we know we can drain fuel from that tank during processing.
Other than this I guess we would need to install sight glasses in each condensing tank.
Col

[Excalibur]

Yes, best wishes to one and all.

My retort probe is pictured on my Blog side-page titled:
Test equipment, sampling, additives, instrumentation #7
It screws into the top flange.

I goes down to perhaps 50mm from bottom of retort.

Yes, there's quite a difference in temperatures between top and bottom of retort but then mine is very tall and skinny.

[rozier56]

rozier56

Happy new year to all.
Excalibur, you mentioned previously that you monitored your liquid levels in the retort and the gas phase.How and were have you installed the temp probe in the retort?
In my case i am unsure as when melting plastics we end each burn with ash drop out.If the probe is not at the retort bottom you might get incorrect readings as the plastic vaporizes.My burners heat the retort at the base.This means the melt at the beginning will have different temp between top and bottom of the load.The probe must be encased inside a steel protective sleve?