A retired BASF research chemist has developed a portable reactor that makes fuel from plastics. Swaminathan Ramesh said his small machine uses a catalysed pyrolysis reaction, using a metallocene catalyst, to produce fuel from discarded polyethylenes, polypropolyenes and polystyrenes with no need for further refining. The process is similar to the one used by the US Department of Energy in its thorium reactors, which use molten salt as fuel.
A retired BASF research chemist has developed a portable reactor that makes fuel from plastics. Swaminathan Ramesh said his small machine uses a catalysed pyrolysis reaction, using a metallocene catalyst, to produce fuel from discarded polyethylenes, polypropolyenes and polystyrenes with no need for further refining. "Ten pounds [of plastic] will give you a gallon of fuel," Ramesh said.