How to turn plastic waste into diesel fuel cheaply

[Marso Green]

I truly appreciate the discussion and the exchange of opinions as well as experiences on the subject of flanges. I think that it's one of the most fundamental safety aspects of the system and the followers of this thread can benefit significantly and would be able to make the right choices for themselves. Thanks again!!

I would like to add my humble perspective that is based on 20+ years of engineering and real world implementations in more than one field: I agree that proven methods, no matter the cost, will remain the appropriate choice in general. The exceptions should be very carefully managed by experts and well versed personnel on the subject. Basically, folks like Jetis and ImakeBiodiesel and beyonbiodiesel seem to be very well accomplished in the art and science of home fabrication and engineering, and can afford to take risk - while others who are considered novices in those fields can reduce complexity and risk by purchasing the proven, more expensive solutions. With that said, pick your products wisely, and take heed of the surplus market. Many defective parts are being sold in the surplus market out there, without reasonable proof that they're not rejected parts. I know because that's part of what I do for a living.

[thissideup]

None of the seal materials listed above are suitable for plastic cracking which needs to tolerate temps a little above 400C. So far I have used three successful sealing methods for use above 400C.
Up to 2" BSP ( NPT in the US) iron threaded pipe male to female with Evode HT30 high temp silicone mastic. Evode specify a max of 350C but it works well for a single use at 420C.
Hand cut non asbestos washer ,rated above 400C, up to 20" diameter on a flat flange dusted with talc or graphite powder to prevent sticking.
Annealed copper or bronze washer up to 20" diameter on a flat flange.
Conflat flanges may be available in your local plumbing supplier but they are not here in Ireland. I doubt that they are easily available in Latvia, Pakistan Mexico, Nicuragua, Africa and many other countries where our members live so we need to look at safe practical alternatives.

could you clarify? hand cut non asbestos washer, what is the material of not asbestos?

Another cheap option that I have tested is simple flat flange, with or ring made of solid copper wire. I used 10 gage wire, silver soldered the ends together, and tightened it down, no leaks, but not sure if it will be reusable.

[imakebiodiesel]

There are a number of companies who make non asbestos gasket material. Novus is the one I use. You can buy a sheet and cut your own custom seals. Sticking it to one flange with heatproof silicone and dusting it with graphite powder prevents it tearing when opening your retort.
A gasket cut from a single sheet of annealed copper or bronze will last for many uses but the flange surface should be machined or hand ground very flat and very smooth. Hand grinding a flange flat is not as difficult as it sounds. A carborundum sharpening stone, some mechanics blue and a lot of patience is all thats needed.
The copper wire works the same way and will give an even better seal but will soon compress so can only be used a few times. Make sure you anneal the whole wire gasket before use. Heat to red with a blowtorch and allow to cool.
The Jetjis flage works on the idea of a thin line of contact, similar to the CF flange but without the gasket. When well machined and new it works well but it may wear with repeated use.
When using a plastic pyrolyser always keep a small but powerful LED torch handy. Check all your joints with it, Vapour leaks will show up clearly in the beam of light. Shut down the moment you see a leak.

[Beyond Biodiesel]

None of the seal materials listed above are suitable for plastic cracking which needs to tolerate temps a little above 400C. So far I have used three successful sealing methods for use above 400C.

However, some of us are distilling WMO, so Kalrez (Perfluoroelastomer, FFKM) –15°F to 600°F (–26°C to 316°C) will work just fine for that.

Conflat flanges may be available in your local plumbing supplier but they are not here in Ireland. I doubt that they are easily available in Latvia, Pakistan Mexico, Nicuragua, Africa and many other countries where our members live so we need to look at safe practical alternatives.

I think we have flogged this dead horse enough.

Standard flat flanges are available the world around, and can easily be machined by a qualified machinist in a properly equipped machine shop. So, why design a flange system that cannot use standard flange gaskets?

Here is a cheap, off-the-shelf Spiral Wound Graphite Gasket available from Industrial plumbing suppliers everywhere. It is graphite and can go to 1200F (650c)

Here is a standard flange that can use the above standard gasket Stainless Steel Flanges Class 150 Threaded

could you clarify? hand cut non asbestos washer, what is the material of not asbestos?

Graphite gaskets can by cut from sheets; however, if you have a standard flange, then you can purchase a gasket for it for very little money from an industrial plumbing supplier. Industrial plumbing suppliers are in every major city of the world.

Another cheap option that I have tested is simple flat flange, with or ring made of solid copper wire. I used 10 gage wire, silver soldered the ends together, and tightened it down, no leaks, but not sure if it will be reusable.

Yes, a copper wire or washer can be made/used. However, a flat flange is not the best design for a copper seal; however, the conflat flange is designed for copper seals. But, as has been pointed out above, conflat flanges are not readily available around the world, and can be very expensive, so it is best to stick with flat flange and a Spiral Wound Graphite Gasket. However, a qualified machinist in a properly equipped machine shop, can most certainly fabricate a conflat flange as long as that machinist understands how conflat flanges must be made and used to work properly.

[Excalibur]

Viewers are welcome to see my 1st video episode 1 in a series of making diesel from waste oil and/or plastics. Video shows my newest machine under construction which features a turk burner, itself powered by waste oils. The concept is from the culmination of a number of previous experiments and employs some of the successful ideas along with some new innovations. The prototype should be regarded as purely experimental. I hope to do the first run within a week. The aim is trap fractions diesel, kero, gasoline, downward.
I plan to update Youtube episodes as progress (or setback) is made. Please join me in this journey of discovery. Comments are welcome. Put my channel on the watchlist and please support my ad sponsors.

My hydrocarbon cracking prototype

[Beyond Biodiesel]

Good to see more videos on cracking hydrocarbons on YouTube. Thanks, Excalibur

[amenokami]

We're working the same project as yours. Knowledge of pyrolysis in our country is very minimal and our nation suffers from the detrimental effects of waste plastic. But we are having problem in controlling the temperature of our reactor.
Can you help us, please? Thank you.

"Intelligence is not a privilege, but it is a gift that we should use for the greatest good of mankind."

[Excalibur]

We're working the same project as yours. Knowledge of pyrolysis in our country is very minimal and our nation suffers from the detrimental effects of waste plastic. But we are having problem in controlling the temperature of our reactor.
Can you help us, please? Thank you.

I've been struggling for better control too. Each of the previous test rigs where a burner was employed demonstrated difficulty compared to electrically heating the retort. I'm going to show the new parts in detail on youtube in coming days. Ultimately, I want the temperature controlled automatically. I have a couple of ideas to trial and am in the build process now.
Subscribe to my Youtube channel please.
Thanks.

[Excalibur]

Part2 is up on Youtube now:

SmokeOnTheQuarter's Youtube Channel

[Beyond Biodiesel]

We're working the same project as yours. Knowledge of pyrolysis in our country is very minimal and our nation suffers from the detrimental effects of waste plastic. But we are having problem in controlling the temperature of our reactor.
Can you help us, please? Thank you.

The trick in using a flame to operate a distillation unit is to take the heat up slowly. Find the lowest amount of fuel you can use to get your retort to operating temperature. Plan on it taking hours. Otherwise you could over-heat the equipment and get boil-over, to Oops, caboom!

[Marso Green]

. But we are having problem in controlling the temperature of our reactor.
Can you help us, please? Thank you. "

What exactly are you using to control the temperature, and exactly what is the difficulty you've encountered? is the temperature fluctuating or is it too high? or is it too low? what feedback loop, if any, do you have in place? Without this info, we can't help you troubleshoot or propose a solution

[gowriel]

crude oil distillation process

This should "do the job":
Crude Oil Distillation Process Part 1
Crude Oil Distillation Process Part 1 - YouTube
Crude Oil Distillation Process Part 2
Crude Oil Distillation Process Part 2 - YouTube

I haven't had time to do almost anything , but learning can be a usefull "tool" in time!
cheers

[Beyond Biodiesel]

Thanks, gowriel, those video links were very useful

[gowriel]

carbon molecule electrons , protons, neutrons?!

Hello again "carbon distillers"; I don't want to "ruin the party" but has anyone "noticed" that the element CARBON 12 has 6 electrons, 6 protons, 6 neutrons?!
How can this be?!
This must be more than a "simple coincidence"...
Damn, I would have never found this out if it wasn't for these high gas/oil/fuel prices...
http://images.flatworldknowledge.com...fig01_x004.jpg
100+ Open and Affordable Textbooks Online for Higher Ed | Flat World

p.s. : also, a pentagrame can be drawn surrounding the protons and neutrons ,and a pentagrame is "supposed" to represent Baphomet/Satan in "ancient times"...
it's getting a bit too "spooky" for me this "carbon thing"...

[gowriel]

IATAConversionTechnologiesFinalv2

For those interested in some more info ,search this pdf file on google:
IATAConversionTechnologiesFinalv2