In all cases economics governed whether such plants continued operation. Since 1985 plastics recycling has become more economically feasible due to continued plastics technological growth and increased environmental concern, however, significant cost impacts remain due to the level of the elevated temperatures previously required. Recycling plastic products saves energy that would have otherwise been used to make plastic products from virgin materials. Manufacturing plastics from recycled plastic products uses only two-thirds of the energy used to make plastics from virgin materials. In addition, recycling saves energy that is used to transport different materials for virgin plastic to countries and cities where finished products are manufactured or used. Energy savings are even bigger if recycling is done close to the area where Waste plastic recyclings are reused.
The present invention relates to a process which overcomes the above-mentioned deficiencies in the prior art and to a process which achieves decomposition of waste plastic at a relatively low temperature. As one example, the process decomposes a mixed stream of waste plastic at a temperature generally less than 375° C. in a hot oil medium. The process converts the polymeric structure of the waste plastic or plastics to smaller chemical molecules such as the monomeric units and related chemical structures at a relatively lower temperature. It also serves the market for the such products. Since this market is not a to-be-developed manufacturing process, but rather one for which existing plants in the refining and petrochemical industries already exist, the process is adaptable to existing facilities that are already experiencing limited supplies of low molecular weight, heteroatomic free feedstocks from petroleum crude oils. The low-molecular weight distillate from waste plastic processing according to this invention may help reduce the demand for imported petroleum products and help decrease our dependence on foreign crude oil.
Oil is one of the components needed to make plastic. Decreasing the amount of plastic items manufactured from virgin materials conserves non-renewable fossil fuels and reduces CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. Fossil fuel use is one of the biggest causes for greenhouse effect and global warming. In addition, reducing fossil fuel usage makes countries less dependent on imported oil.Plastic products take a lot of space in landfills when discarded. Plastic fills about 11 percent of our household waste and withoutWaste plastic recycling supplier it increases the amount of solid waste going to landfills. In addition, plastic products do not decompose in landfills, so they take space in landfills for centuries and contribute to the need of new landfills. If you recycle one ton of plastic items, you can save 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space and slow down the need to plan and build new landfills.
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