How to turn plastic waste into diesel fuel cheaply

[jm.sy2]

help

in our process smoke only our output. we cannot make it to liquid state. how can we cool it?? tnx

[imakebiodiesel]

My reflux is 3% of the volume of the retort. The stainless steel wool is very effective at increasing the working surface area but I cant calculate the surface area. I would add that I never fill my retort above 2/3 so the in effect top of my retort is also acting as a kind of reflux.

[imakebiodiesel]

JM.SY2, we need a bit more information to be able to help you.

[PLASTICTRIX]

My reflux is 3% of the volume of the retort. The stainless steel wool is very effective at increasing the working surface area but I cant calculate the surface area. I would add that I never fill my retort above 2/3 so the in effect top of my retort is also acting as a kind of reflux.

I figured out the surface area of a s.s. scrubby a couple of years ago.
I measured the thickness of one of the fibers with a micrometer, then i flattened the scrubby between two plates of steel in a shop press, then measured the squashed thickness. Then I figured out how many layers of fiber thickness made up the squashed thickness and then multiply that by square inches of area, X 2. LOL It is probably accurate within 10% or so.. If i remember correctly it was a staggering amount of surface for such a small scrubby.

[Excalibur]

JM.SY2, we need a bit more information to be able to help you.

We sure do need more info. We're in the dark! Please post up some pics.

[rizwanabdulla]

We made calculations, it turns out that our device, as crude as it is with much room for improvement, can produce diesel fuel at a cost of 17 US cents a liter, that is when only plastic and electricity is considered. The next machine will probably use a liquid fuel burner to heat the reactor, this could lower the costs even more as it would then run on a small percentage of the produced fuel and also the produced gas would then be used more practically - burned along with the fuel to heat the reactor. Even now, if we would get the electricity from a diesel generator that runs on the produced fuel, it would consume about 20% of the produced fuel, but those generators are never efficient and much of the potential power is lost, so heating the reactor using a burner should be even more efficient. Japan produces such units that run themselves using the produced fuel, their machines use 7-10% of the yield. But they cost more than 100 000$ for a unit the size we have. We also calculated all the materials and work involved to make this device and it comes around 1200$, but it is scalable from table top units up to industrial size units that produce several tons of fuel daily.

Here is a video I made and uploaded on a fake youtube account:
YouTube - Easy way to make your own diesel from plastic waste

Ur informations were really helpful!
I wanted to ask about the chemical composition and reactions taking place there.

[Jetijs]

for the last time.
ALL YOUR ANSWERS ARE IN THIS TOPIC, DON'T BE LAZY AND GO THROUGH IT.
Thanks,
Jetijs

[Beyond Biodiesel]

in our process smoke only our output. we cannot make it to liquid state. how can we cool it?? tnx

If you are not getting liquid out, then you are not cooling your exhaust stream properly. There are a number of condenser designs described on this thread, so I agree with Jetijs.

for the last time.
ALL YOUR ANSWERS ARE IN THIS TOPIC, DON'T BE LAZY AND GO THROUGH IT.
Thanks,
Jetijs

However, arguably it is difficult to find anything useful in a thread that is 73 pages long, and half of the information is crap. So, here is a link to a thread that is only about condenser designs

[Beyond Biodiesel]

Dangers!!

Do not use Nitrile gloves when working with red fuming nitric acid, as sudden combustion of these two chemicals could cause serious chemical burns. Caution must be taken when working with the acid and the gloves at the same time.

The same precaution should be exhibited when doing pyrolysis of Nitrile rubber to make sure there is no red fuming nitric acid nearby, or that the by-product of the pyrolysis of some other substance at the same time does not yield red fuming nitric acid.

Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene (HNBR)
Nitrile rubber, also known as Buna-N, Perbunan, or NBR, is a synthetic rubber copolymer of acrylonitrile (ACN) and butadiene. Trade names include Nipol, Krynac and Europrene.

Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) is a family of unsaturated copolymers of 2-propenenitrile and various butadiene monomers (1,2-butadiene and 1,3-butadiene). Although its physical and chemical properties vary depending on the polymer’s composition of nitrile, this form of synthetic rubber is generally resistant to oil, fuel, and other chemicals (the more nitrile within the polymer, the higher the resistance to oils but the lower the flexibility of the material).

It is used in the automotive and aeronautical industry to make fuel and oil handling hoses, seals, and grommets. It is used in the nuclear industry to make protective gloves. NBR’s ability to withstand a range of temperatures from -40 °C to +108 °C makes it an ideal material for aeronautical applications. Nitrile butadiene is also used to create moulded goods, footwear, adhesives, sealants, sponges, expanded foams, and floor mats.

Its resilience makes NBR a useful material for disposable lab, cleaning, and examination gloves. Nitrile rubber is more resistant than natural rubber to oils and acids, but has inferior strength and flexibility. Nitrile gloves are nonetheless three times more puncture-resistant than natural rubber gloves.[1]

Nitrile rubber is generally resistant to aliphatic hydrocarbons. Nitrile, like natural rubber, can be attacked by ozone, ketones, esters and aldehydes.

Applications
The uses of nitrile rubber include non-latex gloves for the healthcare industry, automotive transmission belts, hoses, O rings, gaskets, oil seals, V belts, synthetic leather, printer's roller, and as cable jacketing; NBR latex can also be used in the preparation of adhesives and as a pigment binder.

Toxic by-products of pyrolysis of Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene (HNBR)
Since Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene (HNBR) 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.
Precautions for operating a hydrocarbon cracking/distillation unit

[jm.sy2]

If you are not getting liquid out, then you are not cooling your exhaust stream properly. There are a number of condenser designs described on this thread, so I agree with Jetijs.

However, arguably it is difficult to find anything useful in a thread that is 73 pages long, and half of the information is crap. So, here is a link to a thread that is only about condenser designs

thank you so much for the fast response.. i think you are right that we are not cooling our exhaust steam properly.. is it possible that we make a aluminum tubing that is about 3meters long and bended like a spring rather to make a condenser? or is there any reliable less cost way? thanks.

[jm.sy2]

here is the sample. just now i read the thread and we skip to many info and make a big mistake and did not make a condenser...

[mjohnson1]

here is the sample. just now i read the thread and we skip to many info and make a big mistake and did not make a condenser...

That thing looks like a ticking time bomb. Is there a way for the gasses to escape after passing into that plastic bottle?

Certain catalysts produce far more gasses than regular pyrolysis without catalyst.

You can always bubble your hot gasses through a water bubbler but that isn't very useful if you plan on using the fuel.

What I do is I have a few feet of steel pipe and wrap water soaked rags around the pipes if they begin to heat up as someone suggested earlier. Where I live its always around 0 Celsius so I can get by with no rags most of the time. If its warmer where you're at you may need to extend the length of the pipe or add wet rags.

[jm.sy2]

That thing looks like a ticking time bomb. Is there a way for the gasses to escape after passing into that plastic bottle?

Certain catalysts produce far more gasses than regular pyrolysis without catalyst.

You can always bubble your hot gasses through a water bubbler but that isn't very useful if you plan on using the fuel.

What I do is I have a few feet of steel pipe and wrap water soaked rags around the pipes if they begin to heat up as someone suggested earlier. Where I live its always around 0 Celsius so I can get by with no rags most of the time. If its warmer where you're at you may need to extend the length of the pipe or add wet rags.

tnx again for a fast response.. im gonna update you guys if something happen interesting or not.

[Excalibur]

... just now i read the thread and we skip to many info and make a big mistake and did not make a condenser...

Thanks for posting a pic.
With a working condenser you would still only get wax because your unit does not have any reflux. While you are reading through the pages, take careful note of reflux information.

[Beyond Biodiesel]

here is the sample. just now i read the thread and we skip to many info and make a big mistake and did not make a condenser...

tnx again for a fast response.. im gonna update you guys if something happen interesting or not.

jm.sy2, you obviously did not read the thread, or at least comprehend it, so the most likely "interesting" thing that will happen is your pyrolysis unit will go up in flames or blow up. I just hope it does not harm anyone or cause any loss of property other than your useless and dangerous pyrolysis unit.