Man Discovers Technique to Turn Plastic Into Oil

19 by Becky Striepe on September 15, 2010

plastic waste pollutes a river

Akinori Ito has developed a portable machine that turns discarded plastic back into usable oil.

Like many people, Ito had a disconnect between his love of nature and caring about the environment. It wasn't until he had children that he realized the lasting impact of our consumerism and the waste it produces.

He developed a machine that heats plastic trash to produce oil that can be turned into gasoline, kerosene, or diesel.

What's phenomenal about this machine is that on top of reclaiming the oil in discarded plastic, it turns trash into a commodity. Instead of focusing on the negative environmental impact of all that plastic, it shows folks that there's an immediate, personal benefit to disposing of it in a more eco-friendly way.

Ito is president of Blest Company in Japan, which makes several different versions of the machine.

Of course, the best solution would be not producing these mountains of disposable plastics in the first place, but we're not there yet. In the meantime, this machine looks like an excellent tool for conserving resources and reducing CO2 emissions.

What do you think? Does this device just give us an excuse to waste more, or could it help tackle our plastic waste problems?

[h/t: Motherboard]

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by Plastic Pollution

commenter

This is great news! I am really amazed! I participate in recycling plastics. But I have a question about the carcinogenic components in the plastic, when plastic turns to oil, and the oil is used to fuel for example cars, it would still be harmful if the carcinogens get released out in the atmosphere right? Thanks.

Becky Striepe

Yes, I think so. It’s still gasoline, so it would probably still pollute. The problem with recycling plastic is that it downcycles into lower quality plastic. You can only recycle it so many times before it heads for the landfill. If plastic could be recycled indefinitely without the loss in quality, it would be less of an issue.

http://buyecofriendly.blogspot.com Buyecofriendly

This is definitely a step in the right direction – but you’re right, stopping making all the plastic bottles would be a better idea!
http://www.greengeek.ca Steve

The potential to release carcinogenic materials depends on how hot the material gets.. If this is small scale thermal depolymerization (TDP), then it would not get hot enough. If this is plasma pyrolysis, then it would indeed get hot enough, but it’s difficult to tell what method it uses. Since there was no outlet for liquid slag, I’d guess it’s a form of TDP.

Interesting machine, though this type of technology has been around for years. Still awesome though, and the more coverage the technology receives, the closer it will get to being adopted mainstream.

http://glueandglitter.com Becky Striepe

Thanks for the info on the process – very interesting!

I think what makes this machine different from others like it is its portability. He’s brought it to areas where this technology wasn’t feasible before because it was too big/expensive to bring in.

Robert

Plastic is made from oil in the first place… isn’t this a little counterproductive? We should re-use the plastic instead to avoid the embedded energy costs associated with making more of it later.

http://glueandglitter.com Becky Striepe

In the areas that he’s introducing this machine, the plastic wasn’t being reused. It was heading to the landfill. By showing folks that they can turn the plastic into oil for cooking or fueling their vehicles, he’s giving that disposable plastic value for them, which keeps it out of landfills and waterways. Not all plastic is reusable/recyclable.

Brian A

Yeah ok: What does this machine run on? Is it plugged in? Does it produce more than it consumes? What is it’s efficiency? Cost?

Basically, is it a cute anecdotal science project or actually practical?

Becky Striepe

Those are great questions! It looks like it plugs into the wall, so they’d need a power source to run it. I wonder if you could use fuel it produces to power a generator to keep it running?
Doug

So Brian A. did you get a reply concerning your question about the waste products left over from this process? There must be some kind of by product left over. Does it take a special process to get rid of the by product?

http://www.foxdesignstudio.com Wade Fox

This sounds great, reminds me of doc stuffing trash into the flux capacitor. Makes me dream for the day we place our garbage bags into a machine that fuels our boilers. A time when we change our vehicles power plants at a waste management station…
http://yahoo anthony coutsouros

please let me know how to contact mr. okinori ito. this a fantastic idear. how can i invest in this. thank you.

Mr Stoney

If You Have Any More Information On This Company And Its Name Please Post As I To Would Like Invest Also…

http://WWW.FOXDESIGNSTUDIO.COM Wade Fox

Every time I see that photo, I close my eyes in disgust.
Scarlett

Does this man have a Noble Prize? If not he should get it!!
Dave E.

I sent an e-mail to this company about a week and half ago for more info on these machines. Still no reply. Is it a scam ? We need to go back to glass recyleable containers.
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Leslie Stevens

This is Awesome! Recently I saw some pieces on shows like CNN and the journal with Joan Lunden on PBS that were talking about issues and solutions for industrial recycling. This kind of thing takes it to the next level. I hope they do well
HaroldMillerFor SanFranciscoMa

it’s now 8/5/2012 and nobody has even heard back from this company to buy the damn thing, so I guess it’s a scam.??????