This French Inventor Built A Machine That Turns 1 Kg Of Plastic Into 1 Litre Petrol & Diesel
But it's only more recently we've been able to pinpoint the specific negative effects it has on the environment. So now, researchers are trying whatever way they can to deal with it.
The main aim is to reduce plastic usage, and clean up what we've already dumped into the oceans. But once we achieve the latter goal, we still have tonnes of plastic we'll need to deal with somehow. Now, one inventor from Southern France says he has a option.
Christofer Costes says he's developed a machine capable of breaking down plastic into a liquid fuel. 'Chrysalis', as it's called, feeds bits of plastic into a 450-degrees-Celsius reactor to pyrolise it, which is a way of decomposing the plastic with high heat. The machine churns out a liquid through this process that's 65 percent diesel, that Costes says can be used for generators or boat motors, 18 percent petrol usable for heating or powering lamps, 10 percent gas for heating, and 7 percent carbon for crayons or colorants.
"This (pyrolising) breaks up the plastic molecules and transforms them into lighter hydrocarbons," Costes says. "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."