How to turn plastic waste into diesel fuel cheaply

[Excalibur]

i have a system that seems to produce a lot of wax right up to reflux temp of 330*c.Has anybody else had this happen when using plastic raws?What temp does this wax start at and do i need to run at higher temp?

Yes, the problem has been reported numerous times. In at least some of the cases, the person did not have any reflux chamber at all! Presumably they did not understand its' function. The retort and reflux need to work in harmony with proper balance. Where a system is focused at producing diesel as the primary product, a reflux °C should not equal (or exceed) the retort °C, else it becomes ineffective.
The very fact that wax is appearing in the condenser/s demonstrates the fact that the reflux isn't working as intended. Raising the reflux °C will not help. I suggest to make the retort and reflux vessels more separate. In addition, dedicated thermocouples for the retort and flame temperature seem prudent. Where the flame temperature is applying too much brute force, this could easily upset the balance essential to distilling fuel from a boiling liquid.
HTH

[chacowako]

The female bottom flange is cut 20mm deep with a 10mm round groove machined through center.

what do you mean? your groove is milled all the way to the center?
so your rope goes circles allot of times all the way to the center for a tight fit?

Or just 1 circle and compress?
also how do you compress a female 10mm groove with a 10mm protrude male with the 10mm graphite gasket?

What I understood:
Example
I have a 4 inch outer diameter ring flange male female.
female 20mm deep 10mm milled at 3inch going to 1inch then hole.
male on the 3rd inch i protrude 10mm and 2.5inch to 1inch I fill with a graphite rope 10mm (square) until I reach my desired hole of 1inch?

[VAST]

Derek`s problem is that he installed a new diesel burner, now it performs too well compared to the lpg gas burner and his measurements is all out of sync, so the reflux need to be adjusted if he cannot adjust the diesel burner in the correct way.

Waxing was described in detail, why it occurs and what to do to fix it.

[VAST]

I was caught up for awhile in a new relationship, but now I can focus my attention here again.

My prototype is almost finished, I must just do the insulation, connect my exhaust heat with my reflux chamber and with my first condenser and connect all the pid controllers and the temp probes, then I can start the system for the first time and test. Before I start my first run I will put it under a pressure test to see if the system is leak proof.

I`m going to get all the welding done by professionals as my welding will not be up to standard. Once this is done I will post some pics.

As I go I take pictures to record my progress and for the satisfaction it gives just to see what you accomplish.

The system will deliver between 80 and 86 liters per run, this one will be a batch system.

[Excalibur]

Derek`s problem is that he installed a new diesel burner, now it performs too well compared to the lpg gas burner and his measurements is all out of sync, so the reflux need to be adjusted if he cannot adjust the diesel burner in the correct way.
Waxing was described in detail, why it occurs and what to do to fix it.

Welcome back VAST. Pics sound great.

I speculate that Dereks' burner is supplying heat well in excess of the requirements of the retort. Without thermocouples monitoring these critical parts we are in the dark. During a recent run, I discovered that to simmer the contents of my retort at 400°C, I only required a flame front temperature of 425°C. In an ideal situation we would match exactly the flame temp to retort requirement but on at least some of those diesel burners, there is not the adjustability. It occurred to me that apart from fitting a smaller spray nozzle, moving the burner further away from the retort would achieve a similar result. Then I thought, why not have a burner that is moveable while in operation!
I liken the heating of a retort to that of heating a pot of liquid-food on a stovetop. During initial heat up, you could use a high setting, but once the contents begins to boil, a low setting is selected. A retort is no different, only we cannot see into it. Therefore we need to be well informed as to the exact conditions with regard to temperature, level, applied heat, etc, etc.
HTH

[chacowako]

My first try had to stop half way through because of leakage.
this is 100%pp strange why its yellow?
isnt pp black?

[wheels]

My first try had to stop half way through because of leakage.
this is 100%pp strange why its yellow?
isnt pp black?

No that is the Color. In fact, that is perfect and quite surprising for a first attempt. Well done.

[Hoddamdg11]

Control

I see no one has commented on Sunilkm describing PID control as two state, ie on-off control (see post 3780) This would only happen with a PID controller if the proportional band was very small (gain very high) effectively causing the controller output to go fully on or fully off. Three term control would give a closer control of the measured variable than on-off control, but the heat rate would need to be capable of being controlled.
PID 101 – PID stands for Proportional, Integral and Derivative action which are distinct actions depending on the size and polarity of the Deviation (Error) – the difference between the Desired Value (Set Point) and the Measured Variable (Process Variable) of the parameter being controlled. There must be a Deviation (Error) before any action can be taken by the controller.
Proportional Action (Gain) changes the output in proportion to the Deviation (Error). If used on its own it will always have a Deviation (Error), which may not matter in some cases if small enough. Integral action is usually added to overcome this.
Integral Action (Reset) continually tries to remove the offset by ramping the controller output up or down until the Deviation (Error) is zero. Ie MV=DV (PV=SP), the integral output will then be zero with the output constant.
Derivative Action (Rate) changes the output depending on the rate of change of the Measured Value. If the MV changes quickly, the output will change by a large amount. Derivative is normally used (with P and I) for temperature control.
The three effects are combined to give PID control and the effect of the P, I and D actions must be set (tuned) to suit the process.

I hope I’m not teaching how to suck eggs.

btw I’ve never seen any discussion on how closely the Reactor or Reflux temperatures need to be controlled or what the maximum rate of initial temperature increase should be. Any ideas?

[MangiPNG]

Яндек�.Фотки

go through this album, hopefully it will help

Thanks Got me thinking now.. That's a much bigger setup to what I am trying to build.. What is the white material that was between the lid and the cylinder?

[MangiPNG]

Don't worry about sucking out too much. Providing you have a solid containment vessel and everything is Air tight, the a maximum vacuum can be pulled and the Oil will stay put in the bottom of the vessel. The more air you can pull out, the better and safer everything will be. One really big plus with having a good vacuum is that you lower the boiling point of everything. That will not be of concern with the Oil as the pressure should be neutral by the time the Oil gets up to temperature. But it will aid in removal of water at a much lower and earlier temperature. It would be helpful to have a Vacuum gauge of course and basically vacuum the Air out, then watch the gauge and when it has returned to zero, you can open the valve to allow the Gas to flow. Remember to close the Valve when vacuuming, or you will suck all your Bubbling water back through the system and maybe into the Compressor Pump.
One wee tip, reduce the oil level in the compressor pump a little. Not essential, but when you use it as a vacuum pump, it can pick up some of that oil and blow it out the outlet. It shouldn't do any damage, just annoying.

Thanks for that.. What valve are you referring to?? Should I install a directional valve right after the Reflux and attach a vacuum to that? but then how will I vacuum the rest of the system during operation? I was under the impression that I would install a vacuum at the very end of the system after all the condensers and bubblers etc..?

[wheels]

Thanks for that.. What valve are you referring to?? Should I install a directional valve right after the Reflux and attach a vacuum to that? but then how will I vacuum the rest of the system during operation? I was under the impression that I would install a vacuum at the very end of the system after all the condensers and bubblers etc..?

You are going to need a Valve placed just before the bubbler, or you will suck the water back through everything and into the vacuum pump. If the Bubbler is the terminal end to the plant, then you might get away with a valve right at the end. But realize that the air in the pipe work after the bubbler will be sucked out and so that will cause water to suck through with it.
WMO tends to produce vapors well before the flash point is reached. Those Vapors will displace oxygen in the tank and pipe work. WMO also does not have properties that react with oxygen to create nasties like Dioxin. So a small amount of Oxygen in the tank before it reaches the vaporizing temperature is fairly safe.
This is unlike Plastics which will react in a low oxygen environment and produce Dioxins. Plus many plastics vaporize at close to the Vapors flash point and an oxygen rich environment is asking for trouble.

[torak]

Thanks Got me thinking now.. That's a much bigger setup to what I am trying to build.. What is the white material that was between the lid and the cylinder?

graphite rope, usually used as seal for wood stoves doors
size of retort can be modified, just give you idea how to do it without flange.

[torak]

what do you mean? your groove is milled all the way to the center?
so your rope goes circles allot of times all the way to the center for a tight fit?

Or just 1 circle and compress?
also how do you compress a female 10mm groove with a 10mm protrude male with the 10mm graphite gasket?

What I understood:
Example
I have a 4 inch outer diameter ring flange male female.
female 20mm deep 10mm milled at 3inch going to 1inch then hole.
male on the 3rd inch i protrude 10mm and 2.5inch to 1inch I fill with a graphite rope 10mm (square) until I reach my desired hole of 1inch?

hi, check out album i post before, hopefully that's give you idea, i think it is same principle as rozier56 described, but this one is welded together from metal pates.

[wheels]

graphite rope, usually used as seal for wood stoves doors
size of retort can be modified, just give you idea how to do it without flange.

Be very very cautious of Graphite rope or any similar high temp rope or fibre, synthetic or Glass fibre materials. It will leak Gas. The Gas that comes off is Hydrogen and will find it's way through the smallest of gaps. We are talking microscopic here. Any fibre materials will not stop it. Even bolted down tightly, the gaps in the fibres are large enough for hydrogen molecules to pass through. You MUST have a solid seal.

[sunilkm153]

My first try had to stop half way through because of leakage.
this is 100%pp strange why its yellow?
isnt pp black?

welcome to the league of sucessful DIY fellows
your o/p sample looks nice whether you use any catalyst or simple thermal pyrolysis