Sweet Gazoil
Solutions for the treatment of waste plastics and waste/used oils
PLASTIC CRACKING PROCESS
Sweet Gazoil™ offers an advanced waste valorization technology for even the dirtiest mixed plastics. Our units are adapted to profitably transform plastics that cannot be easily recycled and usually end up in landfills or incinerators. It can also treat waste oils at the same time.
Micro-Refineries
We are capable of profitably transforming waste plastics (preferably PP and PE) into quality ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) fuels in small-scale micro-refineries. Using patented anti-fouling technologies (Surface Flash Cracking), our process is an order of magnitude more efficient than current plastic pyrolysis technologies, allowing a continuous and highly profitable operation. Each unit operates 24/7 and is manned by 2 people per shift for a total of 12 people (including administrative personnel), as it is highly automated once the mixed and dirty waste plastics are sorted from organics and easily recyclable material.
The ULSD provided by micro-refineries produces 4 times less greenhouse gasses (GHGs) than the same fuel originating from crude. Without even considering the GHG savings from reduced fuel and waste transportation, each micro-refinery will provide negative GHG emissions of about 4,000 tons of CO2e/year.
Operational costs are low and the value added to the plastics is much higher than by the cleaning and sorting of solids polymers. Units get their energy from about 10% of the energy in the plastics, the rest becoming useful products (mostly high quality ULSD). Although bigger units would greatly increase profits and efficiency, we believe small units are more environmentally friendly, as it greatly reduces GHGs associated with the inefficient transportation of light materials (plastics). Using our technology, approaching a zero-waste society can be profitable.
The feedstock for the process can either be mixed waste plastics (preferably PP and PE) obtained directly from materials recovery facilities (MRFs) or waste streams containing mixed plastics with large quantities of impurities, such as municipal solid waste (MSW). When waste plastics are mixed with many other types of materials, cost-effective sorting methods are used to isolate the plastics (with some impurities) and recuperate other valuable material, such as metals and glass. This allows for each fraction of the waste feedstock (plastics, organics, recyclables) to be optimally treated to achieve the greatest overall good. The organics obtained from sorting can be used to produce electricity and compost (anaerobic digestion), while the glass and metals obtained can be recycled. If the feedstock contains substantial amounts of PVC and/or PET, they can be separated by density from the PP and PE and sold as is. By combining cost-effective and small-scale solutions, the need for landfills and incinerators can be greatly reduced, and maybe eliminated all together.
Units can be placed near MRFs or in key locations near large urban areas to decrease waste transportation costs and CO2 emissions. By being able to more fully harness the energy from waste plastics, the installation of micro-refineries will bring added value to waste plastics, promoting their collection and decreasing plastic pollution.
How it Works
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1. Depending on the feedstock, mixed waste plastics are sorted from other waste material and shredded.
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2. The plastics are then pretreated to melt them and remove moisture, some impurities, and air.
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3. The pretreated material is then thermally processed through Surface Flash Cracking in our patented anti-fouling rotating kiln reactor, producing coke and vapors.
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4. The product vapors are purified and separated into high-quality ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels using a small scale distillation column and patented stabilization technologies.
Patented Anti-Fouling Rotating Kiln Reactor
The melted plastics are projected in form of small droplets or particles onto very hot surfaces. Since each particle is so small, the reactor is able to achieve a Surface Flash Cracking and a very heterogeneous feedstock can be treated as if it was homogeneous. The particles react almost instantly as they hit the hot reaction surfaces, absorbing only the amount of energy needed for the material to crack (without over-cracking).
In order to achieve these fast reactions, a tight control of the reaction temperature is required. This is only possible if the reaction surfaces are clean, as heat transfer is greatly reduced by the presence of coke. Our anti-fouling rotating kiln reactor constantly cleans the reaction surfaces using patented technology, optimizing the reaction temperatures and products obtained.
As the kiln rotates:
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shelves push the hot plates up the wall of the reactor;
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the plates fall off the wall once they pass 90°;
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they flip (presenting their hot side to the spray); and
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slide over the other plates during their descent.
The sliding action of the plates removes all deposited coke, which is then fed out of the reactor. These solids are in the form of a non-leachable hydrophobic powder that can be used to extend the life of asphalt or cement, or that can be combusted on-site to provide energy.
