The Hindu              04.05.2013

Plastic waste burns to give cooking gas

Technology causes zero pollution, claims NIT-C team.

A team of researchers from the National Institute of
Technology, Calicut (NIT-C), has developed a technology that converts
plastic waste into cooking gas, without causing pollution.

The
team, led by Lisa Sreejith, associate professor, Department of
Chemistry, NIT-C and N. Sitaraman, retired chemistry professor of the
institute, told
The Hindu
that the cost-effective and eco-friendly breakthrough was achieved
through a thermochemical decomposition of the shredded waste plastic at
an elevated temperature in the absence of oxygen.

“As
much as 750 ml of gas can be produced from a mere four grams of plastic
waste using the technology (750 litre from 4 kg),” said Dr. Lisa. Apart
from the gas, other costly chemicals including the plasticizers
employed to make plastic more pliable, can also be extracted during the
process, she said.

Unlike in the existing recycling
system, no plastic item is rejected in the new method. “The trials have
been successful in disintegrating all kinds of plastics including
polythene, bottles, bags, tyres, charring plastics such as toffee covers
and thermocol,” said Dr. Lisa.

According to Dr.
Lisa, a plant for processing 100 tonnes of plastic waste daily can be
set up at an estimated cost of Rs.2.5 crore. “This includes machinery
and storage facilities for gas in liquid form as it is done in
refineries,” she said.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy
has lauded Dr. Lisa and her team on their feat. “Mr. Chandy has also
expressed his wish see the demonstration of the technology,” she said.

Dr. Sitaraman said that the technology could make a huge difference in the lives of millions of people if utilised effectively.

“We expect the government to respond positively to this development,” said Dr. Sitaraman.

According
to Dr. Lisa, the team has submitted the project to various State and
Central funding agencies, including the Department of Science and
Technology of the Union government for approval. “The patent filing
process also is in progress,” said Dr. Lisa.

The
technology was demonstrated in front a group of invited guests including
Kozhikode MLA A. Pradeepkumar on the NIT-C campus recently. Mr.
Pradeepkumar said

the technology should be utilised
with the help of local bodies and residential associations such as
Niravu Vengeri, which systematically collect plastic wastes from
residents and hand them over periodically to plastic recycling units.