Award Winning Inventor makes FUEL FROM PLASTIC BAGS

[kpete]

What most of us see as the ubiquitous blight of modern convenience consumerism, i.e., littered plastic shopping bags, Japanese inventor Akinori Ito sees as the “fuel of the future”. Like most sensible inventions, Ito’s began with the simple realization that plastic bags are made from oil. Thus, it should be possible, he theorized, to revert these same items back to their original form.

His invention is actually a non-polluting, fully contained process that heats up the plastic, traps the vapors and channels them through an intricate system of pipes and water chambers. These, in turn, cool the vapors and condense them back into crude oil. This crude oil can be used in generators and even some stoves. An additional refinement step converts the crude oil into gasoline.

The carbon-negative system — now offered by Ito’s Blest Corporation, founded in early 2010 — is a highly-efficient technology, converting 1 kilogram (about 2 lbs.) of plastic into 1 liter (about a quart) of oil using just 1 kilowatt of power (cost: about .20 cents). However, the current cost of this system is just under 10,000 USD. Ito hopes to bring this price down through ramping up the production process as the word gets out and demand increases.

Of course, the end product of this conversion system is still fuel that must be burned, and thus, it will give off CO2 as part of the combustion process. Still, recycling is a cornerstone of environmentalism, and such systems, if they became wide-spread, could offer a form of energy independence to consumers and seriously lessen demand for more extraction as we transition into a carbon-neutral (or “clean,” carbon-negative) energy economy.

more:
http://cleantechnica.com/2011/02/14/award-winning-inventor-makes-fuel-from-plastic-bags/

[Luciferous]

1. That is really cool!

[maryf]

2. K&R nt

[msongs]

3. could be worthwhile until we get rid of plastic bag use asap nt

[midnight]

4. This is why science is so important.... great invention.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. What a great idea!

I hope he will make a go of it.

Recommended.

[sendero]

6. In the not-too-distant future..

... we will be mining landfills for these materials that we threw away :)

[Bonobo]

7. But I thought Asian educational systems weren't supposed to create "original thinkers"!?

How does one explain such a thing???

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

8. K&R

[AsahinaKimi]

9. Ya know... there is this giant

Spot out in the Pacific Ocean where there are a ton of plastic stuff floating about. Seems to me it could become a resource...now that this has come to light.

[Poll_Blind]

10. There seems to me to be something Vonnegut-esque to people burying plastic bags in the 60's and...

...70's only to have their great grandchildren working to dig them up and recycle them. Maybe not, I am (with the greatest sadness) not Vonnegut.

PB