A household appliance that converts ubiquitous plastic into fuel

Plastic bags have become a real scourge of our lives. They pollute waterways, get tangled in tree branches and shrubs, and take decades to break down into small pieces.

But Japanese inventor Akinori Ito has created a household appliance that converts the ubiquitous plastic irritant into fuel.

In the video, Ito places plastic bags, plastic containers and other random plastic debris in a desktop machine that melts it all and condenses the released gas to make fuel.

A highly efficient, environmentally friendly machine can process polyethylene, polystyrene and polypropylene (but not PET bottles), and 2 pounds (0.91 kg) of plastic can convert to 115 grams of fuel using only 1 kilowatt of power.



Ito was inspired by the simple understanding that plastic bags are made from oil, so they can be transformed back into their original form. The device heats the plastic with electricity and collects steam, which is then cooled and condensed as crude oil.

Crude oil can be used to run generators and some types of furnaces, and after distillation used to produce gasoline.



By converting plastic into petroleum, we reduce CO2 pollution and raise awareness of the potential of plastic fuels. When plastic is simply burned – a common way to obtain potential energy sources – it generates large amounts of toxins and CO2.

And while the final product is still a fuel to be burned and emit CO2, an innovative recycling method could revolutionize the way certain types of plastics are recycled. Because the system is designed for households, it can create energy independence among consumers and reduce the need to extract more oil from the land.

The system is now sold by Ito’s Blest Corporation. Unfortunately, its price is currently not the most affordable: $10,000. But Ito hopes to reduce it in the future, when the product becomes popular and there will be an opportunity to expand production.

P.S. And remember, just changing our consumption – together we change the world!

Source: www.facepla.net/the-news/tech-news-mnu/5155-plastic-package-to-fuel.html