Quote:
Originally Posted by UFO
I run my diesel off recycled vegetable oil. The process to make diesel fuel from that requires far less energy input than TDP, and because I have a fuel tank, I can travel 600 miles before refueling. No need to make it portable.
What sorts of "trash" do you think a thermal depolymerization unit can use, and what sort of fuel do you want from it?
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Well, here are a few points:
It doesn't HAVE to be portable; however, it does require a huge amount of thermal energy. ICE are very inefficient, and most of that inefficiency is lost in thermal energy. Recouping even a moderate percentage of that energy in the form of fuel could be a good thing.
In terms of trash, why not plastics? They seem to be the most readily available, filling up landfills everywhere, taking forever to break down, etc.
As for fuel type, it could be heating oil, or fuel to run the vehicle that is processing it.
And the biodiesel is a good tangent. Just as jamesqf said, previously, companies were having to pay people to haul it off... Now they can't help getting rid of it. Maybe the same will be true of these plastics that are choking up the environment?