French inventor develops machine that turns plastic waste into fuel

Record ID: 1368765

  • Title: French inventor develops machine that turns plastic waste into fuel
  • Date: 18th December 2018
  • Summary: PUGET-THENIERS, FRANCE (DECEMBER 14, 2018) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** SMALL PLASTIC BALLS BEING POURED ONTO SHAFT PLASTIC BALLS INSIDE SHAFT CHRISTOFER COSTES, INVENTOR WHO HOLDS DIPLOMA IN ELECTRICAL TECHNOLOGY AND INDUSTRIAL-ELECTRICITY, MANIPULATING MACHINE VARIOUS OF MACHINE POURING OUT DIESEL COSTES TAKING FUEL VARIOUS OF COSTES PLACING FUEL IN
  • Embargoed: 1st January 2019 10:47
  • Keywords: Chrysalis Christofer Costes plastic fuel Earth Wake
  • Location: PUGET-THENIERS, FRANCE AND CAP-HAITIEN, HAITI
  • City: PUGET-THENIERS, FRANCE AND CAP-HAITIEN, HAITI
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Science
  • Reuters ID: LVA0019BH2H5N
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:An inventor from southern France has developed a machine that breaks down plastic into a liquid that can be used as fuel.
    Christofer Costes said his 'Chrysalis' machine creates fuel by feeding bits of plastic into a 450 degrees Celsius reactor and churn out liquid composed of: 65 percent diesel that can be used for generators or boat motors, 18 percent petrol for heating or for powering lamps, 10 percent gas for heating, and 7 percent carbon that can be used for crayons or colorants.
    "It functions by pyrolising (decomposing the plastic with high heat)," Costes said.
    "This breaks up the plastic molecules and transforms them into lighter hydrocarbons. They go up into the distillation tower, and separate into diesel, petrol and at the top of the tower, there is gas, which is stored in a reservoir."
    The Chysalis was developed by Costes with the help of the environmental organisation, Earth Wake, which hopes to develop the prototype into a commercial device, costing about 50,000 euros.
    The current prototype can transform up to 10 tonnes of plastic into fuel per month, the team says.
    "A kilo of plastic gives a litre of liquid. It's separated between diesel and petrol," added Costes.
    The makers say it could be especially useful in developing countries where waste management and fuel supply is fraught with difficulties.
    The developers hope to create a container-size version of the machine by mid-2019, which can churn out 40 litres of fuel per hour.
    "The mission of this machine is to collect plastic waste, especially in developing countries and to create value and jobs, and we combine the collection of plastic waste and the creation of jobs. And we want the model to be economically sustainable so that it becomes viable, and can be duplicated more and more as time goes on," said Francois Danel from Earth Wake.
    Every year, about 260 million tonnes of plastic is produced. U.N. figures show eight million tonnes of plastic - bottles, packaging and other waste - enter the ocean each year, killing marine life and entering the human food chain. Conservationists have warned that plastic pollution in the oceans could outweigh fish by 2050.
    Similar technologies to the Chysalis have already been developed by companies looking to help solve the one of the greatest environmental problems facing humanity.
    British firm Recycling Technologies says their machine - the RT7000 - can transform hard-to-recycle waste plastic into a novel raw material, called Plaxx, which can then be re-used by the plastics industry. Able to recycle about 7,000 tonnes of mixed plastics a year through a process called 'thermal cracking', the machine produces chemicals suitable for the manufacture of new, virgin-quality plastics including as a direct substitute for paraffin waxes and a chemical feedstock for polymer production.
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