Grant: Alliance Grants

In Canada, 230 kg per capita of municipal solid waste (MSW) is generated annually, costing the Canadian government $85 per person in recycling, and 24.89 million tons of MSW are annually deposited from the Canadian provinces into the landfills which are accountable for 50% of wastes and emit 37.5 kg of methane per ton of MSW. Plasma Assisted Plastic to Oil process technology (PAP2O) offers an exceptional solution to the plastic waste management issues of the modern world, especially in terms of landfill elimination and extracting usable fuel and oil from plastic waste. Project goal is the development of plasma-based plastic to energy solution process technology for industrial applications based on post-consumer and post-industrial inputs. The proposed P2O unit consists of a 12 kW DC non-transferred arc thermal plasma torch having more than 90% efficiency, a 20-40 Liter high-pressure high-temperature thermochemical reaction chamber, and an advanced process control unit which can be applied for P2O and waste to energy. 3 main outcomes are considered together, which are lacking in current waste-to-energy, gasification, and pyrolysis solutions: high purity final output energy products; no creation of tar, ash, or other negative environmental externalities; net positive energy production. A conversion unit is the main step towards reaching the goal on a large scale: a DC non-transferred arc thermal plasma torch, advanced reaction chamber, and suitable control system will be combined to demonstrate the simple, compact, and economical advantages of using DC non-transferred arc thermal plasma torch for high quality plastic to energy process.