How to turn plastic waste into diesel fuel cheaply

[jonathan]

plastic waste

hello can some one explain me something? i make small pyrolysis l make the reactor and put the pipe in cold water l cant find any oil in water but after l find a lot of wax in pipe why ? l thing the pipe was small. l am making new reactor with 50 liter geyser can someone tell me the size of pipes for the 50 litres reactor thanks

[Excalibur]

If you are getting wax, then you have got a reflux problem.
Do a search of this forum thread for reflux ideas. There are plenty.

[jonathan]

plastic waste

thanks my friend if u can give me the link because theres alot of words to find the problem 60 pages l find wax in my reactor pipe not in the bubbler

[jonathan]

plastic waste

l am going to make 50 litre geyzer is l inch pipe good for reactor? thanks

[imakebiodiesel]

It seem to me that you have 2 problems, not one. The first is that you are producing wax, not liquid fuel. The second is that it is condensing in the pipework not the water bath.
Wax is produced because the you are not cracking the plastics completely. Wax is usually in the C50-25 range and you need to get into the C20 - C6 range.
Two improvements can be made. Add a reflux column to your retort and control the temperature at the top of the reflux column according to the type of fuel you want. 350C for diesel, 260 for kerosene 160 for gasoline. There is lots of information here on this discussion on how to construct a reflux column.
Introduce a catalyst, either in the liquid phase as Asad uses or in the gas phase as I do. The catalyst will dramatically increase the output of liquid fuel and will narrow the C range of the fuel as well.
The wax is forming in your pipework because it is cooling too fast. Insulate the pipework up to the point it enters the water bath. If you can, shorten the pipe between the retort and the bath.

I am constructing a retort that will hold 80kg of plastic. My pipework is 1,1/2" internal diameter and Im hoping that will be large enough. In terms of gas flow oversize is better than undersize.

[jonathan]

plastic waste

ok my friend do you have picture of what l want to make l wish to start from the basic and simple plastic to oil and from the output of the reactor whats the better l make an elbow or go up first thanks

[imakebiodiesel]

A word of warning to anyone constructing small simple pyrolysers. A popular first model is a metal can on a gas cooking ring. A pipe from the top of the can leads to a water bubbler where the gases condenses in the cold water and floats to the surface. I built one of these myself when I started out.
There is a serious risk of explosion with these units.
At the end of the process when the heat is turned off a partial vacuum is formed in the retort and this will suck water back from the bubbler. If water comes in contact with the still hot retort a steam explosion will occur, wrecking your apparatus and possibly injuring anyone close by.
Some people introduce an " improvement" by adding a valve to the pipework which allows them to relieve the vacuum by sucking air in instead of water. This is even more dangerous as the gases in the retort are well above their autoignition point.
The solution is to add an air cooled condenser between the retort and the bubbler. This can be very simple, mine was constructed from a paint tin and you can view it on the website below.. Firstly your fuel will not be contaminated by water and if water does get sucked backwards at the end of the process it will collect in the condenser, not the retort.
polydiesel

[jonathan]

plastic waste

ok l think my problem that l dont find oil is the time l try metal can a pipe that goes to water how much time do u think l want to leave it and for 50 litres geyzer tank is 1 inch pipe ok? thanks

[imakebiodiesel]

I didnt understand the first part of your post, try again please. I think 1" pipe should be ok for a 50 litre retort. When using it for the first time heat it up very slowly and stop if you get a blockage. A pressure release valve and a pressure gauge is a good idea. |You can see mine in the picture gallery of my website.
polydiesel

[jonathan]

plastic to oil

ok l try with 1 litre metal can a pipe to a glass with water how much time l want to leave it to start produce oil l heat it with gas burner thanks

[jonathan]

plastic waste

can someone write me the sizes of pipes and how long they are of this picture thanks and the tempretures

[jonathan]

plastic waste

ok l read some pages l want to heat reactor 400degres and catalyst or reflux about 200 degres and then go to bubbler? is like that good ?

[imakebiodiesel]

Those temperatures sound about right. The times and the lengths of the pipes are not important. Its the temperatures that matter. Cracking of waste plastics occur at between 365 and 425C. Catalysts made from mineral clays need to be heated to at least 200C to activate. The reflux temp determines the type of fuel you want, high for diesel, low for gasoline. I cant be any more precise than that because every outfit varies.

[jonathan]

plastic waste

ok thanks my friend l will try that thanks

[Babataku]

Charcoal Fired Unit

Hi All,

I have finished fabricating my 1st reactor from a used compressor tank 50ltr capacity. I have one condensing unit as I intend to process WMO into diesel fuel for Electricity Generator and a stationary engine. I know these are not fussy about quality of fuel. so I will start of with one condensor and see how it goes.

I will be heating with Charcoals as electricity is expensive and not reliable at all, we have frequent power cuts, besides I want to generate my own power from the genset. im in Africa.

Few questions: im worried if Charcoal will be able to heat the WMO to the required temperature of 400deg celc and if so in a reasonable time frame maybe 2hrs or so. has anyone tried heating with an open flame or charcoals???

I invite any comments and suggestions. I will be firing the unit on monday...