Page 24 - Plastics News November 2017

FEATURES
FEATURES

The viable option - squeezing fuel out of plastic waste

Chennai based Paterson Energy company builds plants that can process plastic waste to produce liquid
fuel that is cheaper than diesel and a substitute to fuel generators industrial boilers, kilns, furnaces diesel-
powered engines and other such equipment

ith the growth in Plastics waste and a business during the process are reused for heating. Any solid
Wborn out of commitment to a clean environment, residue in the final stage is much like carbon black, can
a technology honed over years, scaled up to commercial be used in diverse ways including as hollow blocks. So
levels and proven in the field . it is a “zero-discharge, zero-effluent plant,” she says.
Chennai based Paterson Energy’s plants deliver the double Initially, the whole concept was kicked off as a social
benefit of tackling plastic waste and producing a useful cause to rid cities of plastic waste. But with the
product from waste. potential to expand the scope of the project and the
company recently bagging a contract from Engineers
India Ltd to set up a 5-tonne-a-day waste-to-fuel
project at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, Paterson Energy
has crossed a critical threshold. It hopes to tap the
emerging opportunities in this line, she says.

This is a sector that is opening up. The project is one of
many planned by the government as part of the Swachh
Bharat initiative to clean up temple towns and tourist
centres. Companies such as Paterson Energy can look
forward to exploiting such opportunities.

K Venkatesh, President, Paterson Energy, says the
proposed plant in Mathura is part of a Rs. 9.5-crore
contract with Rs. 5.5 crore coming in as a viability gap
funding, Rs. 2.5-3-crore plant cost and the balance
The company builds plants that can process plastic being operational cost. The company will set up the
waste to produce liquid fuel that is cheaper than diesel plant and handle the operation and maintenance for 15
and a substitute to fuel generators, industrial boilers, years. Paterson Energy gets to sell the plastic oil and
kilns, furnaces diesel-powered engines and other such retain the revenue. The plant will generate about 2,500
equipment.
litres of oil per day with the average price estimated
Even waste such as shopping bags and miscellaneous at about Rs. 40 a litre.
plastic stuff that are not normally picked up by rag pickers Increasingly, as local administrations move towards
for recycling can be used as a raw material. Plastics are more stringent waste management, Paterson Energy
the bane of urban development, they do not degrade, sees a growing demand for its solution. Look at any
they clog drains, choke livestock, mar the environment major urban centre or industrial hub and plastic waste
and are piling up by the day. But now there is a solution, will be a significant issue, he points out. For instance,
and “it is environment-friendly and bankable,” says Vidya the Centre’s Waste Management Rules 2016 dictate
Amarnath, Director, Paterson Energy.
tough guidelines for industries that generate plastic
In-house tech and holds them responsible for safe disposal.

The technology developed in-house involves But, Venkatesh emphasises, the primary objective
thermochemical depolymerisation – essentially breaking of a plastic fuel plant is waste management. Oil is
down plastic at 300-500 degrees Centigrade in the absence only the icing on the cake. Citing possible instances
of oxygen to get the liquid fuel. Some gases generated where the solution can be applied, he points out

Plastics News N ovember 2017 24