Plastic waste production has increasing tendency in long term period. Only 23% is used for energy production. European economy this loses a significant amount of potential secondary raw materials. Plastic waste also has a negative environmental impact and this is a global problem.
There are a lot of technical solutions on the market processing the plastic into oil: pyrolysis, catalytic depolymerisation, distillate depolymerisation and different ways of gasification.
The most sustainable from point of view of quality of end product – oil, electricity consumption and output as percentage of input is the distillate depolymerisation used by Leitner technology. The overall objective was to deliver on global market innovative, cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution for the elimination of plastic waste landfilling in line with the Europe 2020 strategy calling for 20% increase in energy from renewables and in line with Zero plastics to landfill by 2020 strategy calling for new recycling solutions for energy recovery of plastic waste.
Leitner company developed and tested in real environment unique small (required space is 24 m²), mobile (transportable by truck and 10 t crane), modular (basis equipment is a recycling unit + supplemental units, such as grinding mill, oil storage tank equipped with dosing equipment, generator for electricity and others easily connected/disconnected and immediately operable), energy and operation efficient and cheap technology for processing dirty waste plastic into oil/electricity. The technology is fully safe, automatic and unattended. Process gas produced during recycling process is suitable for immediate further usage (e.g. heating, etc.). Technological process is practically waste, noise and pollutant free, marginal emissions do not contain tar. Production of ecological oil in the amount of processing 99% of the incoming plastic waste, e. g. 1 litre of oil is produced from 1 kilogram of plastic waste, while consuming only 1kW of electric energy. The end product can be also electric power instead of alternative oil and then from 1 kilogram of plastic waste a litre of oil is produced and from oil through the generator is obtained 7 kWh.
The project is fully technically and economically validated and economically proven.
