Lab-Scale Plastic-to-Fuel Process Shows Promise

Oak Ridge National Laboratory's method converts plastic waste into gasoline and diesel-like fuels at lower temperatures than conventional processes.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed a lab-scale process that converts polyethylene waste—such as shopping bags and cutting boards—into gasoline and diesel fuels. The method uses aluminum chloride-based molten salts as both reaction medium and catalyst, achieving approximately 60% gasoline yield at temperatures below 200°C. This operates significantly cooler than traditional pyrolysis (450–500°C), avoiding noble-metal catalysts, external hydrogen, and organic solvents. The research, published in the *Journal of the American Chemical Society*, demonstrates feasibility for polyethylene conversion but remains confined to laboratory experiments.

The process addresses a critical tension in waste management by transforming a problematic resource into usable energy. If scaled, it could reduce disposal costs for plastic waste while creating liquid fuels from a feedstock that currently requires costly landfilling or incineration. Crucially, it bypasses expensive catalysts and high-temperature requirements, potentially lowering barriers to adoption.

The technology has not been scaled beyond lab tests, and the 60% yield applies specifically to polyethylene. Further development is needed to handle mixed plastics and achieve commercial viability. Next steps include refining the process for real-world feedstocks and addressing the study’s focus on polyethylene as the primary plastic input. This work advances energy security by showing how waste could become a fuel source without new infrastructure.

Source: ScienceDaily