They're Turning Waste Plastic Into Fuel

2007 - Volume #31, Issue #3, Page #34

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Plastofuel™ was invented in 1995 but it still hasn't found its market.
    Inventor Jim Garthe, agricultural engineer at Penn State University, is hopeful that the extender he designed to make fuel nuggets out of waste plastic will soon catch on. He points out that the system is ideal for ag plastics because it can handle a lot of dirt and debris which causes problems with other recycling methods.
    The dense "Plastofuel" nuggets can be burned cleanly with coal, wood, and other fuels.
    According to Garthe, the energy content of plastics (approx. 19,000 btu/lb.) is very near that of fuel oil (approx 21,000 btu/lb.).
    "The current Plastofuel prototype has a 4-channel die that allows four extrusions to occur at one time. Because the die is heated, it melts a thin outer layer of the plastic, and the resulting jacket locks unmelted pieces inside," Garthe says. "Then a hot knife cuts and seals the ends of extruded material into nuggets which are easily stored or shipped."
    The current Plastofuel machine will produce 200 lbs. of nuggets per hour.
    "The nuggets are a clean burning, quality product," he says. "We can take plastics of many different sorts, particularly certain waste plastics that can't be recycled anywhere else. Testing continues, and we're very optimistic that we're onto something. It's just a matter of some organization that would be willing to commercialize it. We don't want to sell it, but would be willing to work out a partnership. All we would ask is to be a working partner."
    In one possible commercialization plan, Penn State University has been trying to work together with a South Korean firm that invented a plastic-fueled burner in 1999.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Penn State University, Jim Garthe, Agricultural Engineer, 246 Agricultural Engineering Building, University Park, Penn. 16802 (ph 814 865-7154; jwg10@psu.edu; www.personal.psu.edu/users/m/j/mjl145/plastofuel_gallery.htm).

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They're Turning Waste Plastic Into Fuel ENERGY Miscellaneous 31-3-34 PlastofuelÖ was invented in 1995 but it still hasn't found its market. Inventor Jim Garthe, agricultural engineer at Penn State University, is hopeful that the extender he designed to make fuel nuggets out of waste plastic will soon catch on. He points out that the system is ideal for ag plastics because it can handle a lot of dirt and debris which causes problems with other recycling methods. The dense "Plastofuel" nuggets can be burned cleanly with coal, wood, and other fuels. According to Garthe, the energy content of plastics (approx. 19,000 btu/lb.) is very near that of fuel oil (approx 21,000 btu/lb.). "The current Plastofuel prototype has a 4-channel die that allows four extrusions to occur at one time. Because the die is heated, it melts a thin outer layer of the plastic, and the resulting jacket locks unmelted pieces inside," Garthe says. "Then a hot knife cuts and seals the ends of extruded material into nuggets which are easily stored or shipped." The current Plastofuel machine will produce 200 lbs. of nuggets per hour. "The nuggets are a clean burning, quality product," he says. "We can take plastics of many different sorts, particularly certain waste plastics that can't be recycled anywhere else. Testing continues, and we're very optimistic that we're onto something. It's just a matter of some organization that would be willing to commercialize it. We don't want to sell it, but would be willing to work out a partnership. All we would ask is to be a working partner." In one possible commercialization plan, Penn State University has been trying to work together with a South Korean firm that invented a plastic-fueled burner in 1999. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Penn State University, Jim Garthe, Agricultural Engineer, 246 Agricultural Engineering Building, University Park, Penn. 16802 (ph 814 865-7154; jwg10@psu.edu; www.personal.psu.edu/users/m/j/mjl145/plastofuel_gallery.htm).

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