Clean Planet Energy has collaborated with NGO Riverrecycle to build a combined floating debris to fuel value chain.
Riverrecycle has won funding from the ICTSI Foundation to begin removal of plastic litter from Manila’s Pasig River, and that work is already under way.
Clean Planet Energy will complement its efforts with the construction of a plastic-to-fuel plant in Manila.
Commenting on the project, Clean Planet Energy CEO Bertie Stephens, said that the solution aspires to remove difficult plastics from the environment, and convert these plastics into ultra-clean fuels that can replace fossil fuels.
The ecoPlant uses pyrolysis and oil-upgrading technology to convert waste plastics into clean fuels. The fuels produced can be used as a direct replacement in fossil-fuel engines, with Clean Planet Energy estimating that it reduces net CO2 emissions by about 75%.
The prospective plant design would consume up to 60 tonnes of shredded plastic per day. The plastic is heated in an oxygen-free environment to high temperatures, causing it to break down into smaller molecules that can be refined into liquid, solid and gaseous products.
The solid can be used in construction applications, the gas would be burned to power the plant, and the fuel output would be used as a drop-in replacement for crude oil-based fuels.
