US company eyeing joint venture and LGU partners here

A technology to convert plastic waste into crude oil will be unveiled in the United States on Friday, before it is introduced in Manila before the month ends.

Developed by Environmental Vision (Envion), a company chaired by former US Defense Minister Frank Carlucci, the oil generator accomplishes the twin purposes of cleaning up the environment and helping supply America’s petroleum requirements.

The oil generator reportedly has the capacity to produce 3-5 barrels of refined petroleum product from 10,000 tons of plastic waste annually.

Envion’s Filipino executive will be in Manila before end September. Pio Goco, the company’s vice president for business development, will introduce the technology to prospective joint venture partners, local government units, and non-government organizations here.

Barrels of oil

The proprietary technology works by extracting hydrocarbons—an organic compound made up of carbon and hydrogen and a component of crude oil—from plastic waste without a catalyst (a substance which accelerates chemical reaction).

Plastic production eats 8 percent of the world’s oil production—4 percent for the raw material or feedstock, and 4 percent for the manufacture. Envion calculated that discarded plastic contains a considerable amount of energy almost similar to gasoline and 51% percent more than that of coal.

In 2007, the US produced 58 million tons of plastic, 48 million of which became waste.

If the oil generator could convert the energy from 48 million tons of plastic waste, over 2 million barrels of oil could be produced.

This is 10% of America’s daily consumption of 20 million barrels of oil a days, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Envion could process seven kinds of plastic, which are used in manufacturing milk bottles, Tupperware, plates, medical bags, and flooring. The oil taken from them could be transformed into commercial fuel, such as gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel, and diesel.

Environment-friendly

The Envion oil generator was built over 15 years. Since it works through reactors, it does not entail much manpower. It also has limited emissions because the process of conversion is self-contained.

This method promises to be more environment-friendly than the current waste disposal measures. Plastic waste incineration, for one, emits greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide contributes to global warming.

There is also the common practice of dumping, where plastic wastes are thrown both in land and in water. Landfills, on the other hand, pose the danger of groundwater contamination.

Recycling is still a viable option for reducing plastic waste, though this has yet to be integrated in every community.

Envion aims to scale its operations by introducing their technology in the Philippines.

Converting plastic waste into oil has a niche in Asia, particularly in Thailand and India. Single Point Energy and Environment, another private company, built 3 Polymer energy plants that could convert plastic waste into oil through catalytic pyrolysis.

Envion says it ca build plants anywhere in the world, including the Philippines. (abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak)

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