Converting Plastic Into Oil Could Add $9B To U.S. Economy

[eridani]

http://www.manufacturing.net/news/2014/10/converting-plastic-into-oil-could-add-9b-to-us-economy?et_cid=4207939&et_rid=54679148&location=top

ide-scale deployment of emerging technology that converts used, non-recycled plastics into oil could generate up to $9 billion in annual U.S. economic output and create upwards of 40,000 domestic jobs, according to a report released by the American Chemistry Council.

The report, “Economic Impact of Plastics-to-Oil Facilities in the United States (study, fact sheet),” assessed the economic potential of a rapidly developing technology called pyrolysis—more commonly known as plastics-to-oil. ACC’s analysis found that the United States could support as many as 600 of these facilities nationwide, which could yield $2.1 billion in annual payroll and create up to $6.6 billion in capital investment.

“Plastics-to-oil technologies have the potential to create thousands of jobs for skilled workers, contribute billions of dollars to the U.S. economy, cut our carbon emissions, and dramatically reduce the landfilling of a valuable energy source,” said Jon Angin, vice president of business development at Agilyx Corporation and chairman of ACC’s Plastics-to-Oil Technologies Alliance.

Earlier this year a separate study by engineers at Columbia University’s Earth Engineering Center found that converting non-recycled plastics into oil could generate 6 billion gallons of gasoline—enough to fuel nearly 9 million cars—per year. Because plastics are derived from natural gas, they typically have higher energy value than other types of household waste.

[BlueCaliDem]

1. Then what are they waiting for?? eom

[Warpy]

2. I've said for years that mining the plastic garbage gyrus in the Pacific

and feeding it into a shipboard thermal depolymerization setup would be a great business plan, converting fish killing, ugly trash back into the petroleum that originated it.

In time to come, the foulest landfills could also be mined to yield light, sweet crude oil.

It's just waiting for investment by rich men who don't have blinders on and can see only drilling and fouling the environment as the only way to get oil.

If I had inherited enough money to ruin my life, I'd probably try to set up a pilot program, myself.

[loudsue]

3. If I had inherited enough money to ruin my life, I'd probably try to set up a pilot program, myself.

I know you would Warpy. Me too. That's the kind of thing I would wish to do if I won the lottery or some-such.

[madokie]

4. We need to get started on this

Every time I throw a plastic bottle away I wonder why we don't have recycle around here where we live.
My understanding is that all plastics can be recycled one way or the other such as this process here.