Low Cost Plastic Waste to Fuel Catalysts Wins Prize for Egyptian Student

03 July 2012 A method developed by a 16 year old Egyptian student for breaking down plastics to create feedstocks for biofuels using a low-cost catalyst is be developed further in the UK next month, according to a report by the Science and Development Network (SciDev). The process was developed by Azza Abdel Hamid Faiad, from the Zahran Language School in Alexandria, Egypt. The report said that Faiad won the European Fusion Development Agreement award at the 23rd European Union Contest for Young Scientists in Finland last year. According to SciDev, Faiad has succeeded in converting plastic into fuel feedstocks - the bulk raw material for producing biofuel - by identifying a catalyst, calcium bentonite, for breaking down the plastic waste that is low in cost. When the waste is broken down, it produces gaseous products including methane, propane and ethane, which are then converted into ethanol for use as fuel. Heating plastics to break them down may not be a ground breaking idea in itself, but Faiad is reported to have said that it is the type of catalyst used which adds weight to her project. The development could be of particular interest in Faiad's home country of Egypt, which is currently estimated to consume around 1 million tonnes of plastics each year. Faiad will present her project and be assisted with its development at the Joint European Torus (JET) facility - the focal point of the European fusion research programme - at the UK-based Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, UK during a week long placement that was awarded as a prize. Read More Waste Plastic to Fuel Facility to be Built for SITA in Bristol Cynar, which has developed a process to turn waste plastics into fuel, has awarded an $11 million contract to Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) to design and build a new end-of-life plastic to fuel conversion plant in Bristol, UK. Gasification & Pyrolysis the Answer for U.S. Waste Plastics? A new study showing has shown that emerging new technologies designed to convert waste into fuels or raw materials offer environmental benefits and cost savings over landfill disposal. Plastic to Oil Facility Brings Second Processer Online in New York JBI, a Canadian waste plastics to oil specialist has commissioned its second Plastic2Oil (P2O) processor at its Niagara Falls, New York facility. Free Magazine Subscription Free Email Newsletter