Page 58 - Plastics News September 2019

TECHNOLOGY

IIP scientists develop tech to counter ecological threat

he journey from plastic to petrol, a pilot plant for institute in the country. For the next eight to nine months,
Twhich was inaugurated in Uttarakhand on Tuesday, we will study the functioning of the plant and analyse
started in 2006 when a small group of scientists at the data, following which we will be in a position to transfer
Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun, started work the technology to the industry and the government. The
on a project to make something useful from the hazardous government can use this technology to set up such plants in
waste to develop a technology that will not only help in the municipal areas to deal with the problems of hazardous
disposing of the plastic but will also result in generating waste plastic. The potential for this technology is huge.
revenue from it. After much effort, the institute developed The diesel produced can be used across the automobile
a technology to convert plastic into petroleum products industry, by farmers for powering generators and tractors
such as diesel, petrol and other aromatic compounds. and so on”, he said. On whether the diesel produced using
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that petrol or diesel is basically a combination of a large
number of chemicals/hydrocarbons. Even diesel sourced
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chemicals that have the same aggregate properties like
diesel. So natural diesel and the diesel we produce are
chemically different, but they serve the same purpose”,
he said.IIP Dehradun, one of the constituent research
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and Industrial Research (CSIR), conducts research on
Sanat Kumar, senior scientist in-charge of the project hydrocarbons, use of alternative fuels in engines and
DW ,,3 'HKUDGXQ VDLG PDQ\ SHRSOH ÀQG LW GLIÀFXOW WR related technologies.
XQGHUVWDQG KRZ SODVWLF FDQ EH FKDQJHG LQWR GLHVHO ´:KDW Here are the key points in the journey from plastic to
we have done here is that we have broken large plastic diesel:
molecules also called polymers into small molecules by
heating plastic in absence of air, so that it doesn’t burn. 7KH ÀUVW SLORW SODQW ZLOO FRQYHUW NJ RI SODVWLF
This is called pyrolysis. Then we experimented with these waste to 800 litres of diesel daily.
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right combination of catalysts that help in turning these VWUDLJKWDZD\ ÀOOHG LQ FDUV WUXFNV RU JHQHUDWRUV
molecules into hydrocarbons like diesel and petrol. Once * Estimated to be economically viable without subsidy
catalysts do their job, we set it for condensation, a process
with 10 tonnes per day of plastic processing facility.
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which is gasoline or diesel or aromatics”, he said. OO SRO\ROHÀQLF ZDVWHV SRO\HWK\OHQH DQG SRO\SURS\OHQH
which account for approximately 70% of total plastics
Kumar said depending on the choice of the catalysts consumed, can be converted.
used in the process, they have three options. “From one
kilogram of waste plastic, we can either produce 850 ml of (YHU\WKLQJ IURP SODVWLF ZUDSSLQJ ÀOP WR SRO\EDJV
diesel or 700 ml of petrol or 500 ml of aromatic products. EXFNHWV WR VKDPSRR SDFNDJLQJ LV PDGH RI SRO\ROHÀQV
$QG ZH KDYH VFDOHG XS WKLV WHFKQRORJ\ IRU WKH ÀUVW WLPH * After about 6 months of regular operation and data
for processing nearly one tonne of plastic waste at our generation, CSIR-IIP in association with GAIL will roll
pilot plant here on the campus, which was inaugurated out this technology nationwide.
here on Tuesday by Dr Harsh Vardhan, union minister for * IIP has partnered with local NGO GATI Foundation who
health, science and technology and earth sciences”, he has worked with communities, commercial entities
VDLG 2Q WKH VLJQLÀFDQFH RI WKH SLORW SODQW .XPDU VDLG and rag pickers to develop an effective waste plastic
´,W LV WKH ÀUVW VXFK SODQW VHW XS E\ D JRYHUQPHQW UHVHDUFK supply chain.

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