timouse Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 As seen in the New Scientist. A US company is taking plastics recycling to another level - turning them back into the oil they were made from, and gas.All that is needed, claims Global Resource Corporation (GRC), is a finely tuned microwave and - hey presto! - a mix of materials that were made from oil can be reduced back to oil and combustible gas (and a few leftovers).Key to GRC's process is a machine that uses 1200 different frequencies within the microwave range, which act on specific hydrocarbon materials. As the material is zapped at the appropriate wavelength, part of the hydrocarbons that make up the plastic and rubber in the material are broken down into diesel oil and combustible gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwa. Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Very encouraging! Hopefully just the tip of the iceberg for this sort of innovation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry_llama Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 i have a regular sized microwave that turns dark lightbulbs temporarily into bright ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geomouse Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Very cool Tim!...I'm going to start wrapping my plastics in aluminim foil!...get the light show while distilling biodeisel for the volvo.g Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nattyMatty Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 JUST A RAMBLEIt only makes sense. oh 1 more thing. This is probably why you should Only I mean Only use microwave safe dishes. margarine containers and other crap probley break down and go into your food. I also read once that if you do use plastics in your microwave that leach into your food it can mimic the estrogen in woman. (That fact came from the University of Britsh columbia)oh 1 more thing. I once was out in my boat and got stuck in this cove on a very ruff morning and I had gas and oil coming out the engine into my boat that was full of rain water and waves. I was wearing a plastic type jacket. The water and the oil and the gas mixed together as a sludge and got on the jacket when i finally got home i threw my jacket in the dryer. when it came out there was a hard ugly looking harded material on the jacket IT NEVER PEALED OFF and NEVER WASHED OFF it was there for ever. I don't know what it was but it was like plastic and just wouldn't come off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamilton Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 This is certainly *reasonably* good news - instead of plastic waste, maybe we can see it being reused - but I'd still be much more heartened by news of a breakthrough in an environmentally-friendly alternate fuel.Or the development of transporter beams, like in Star Trek. Now, that would be cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boiler Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 yes, so now we can burn up all the plastics in the world, after they've been reconverted to oil and screw our planet even more, perfect. I can't wait until Ontario has the climate of Florida. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaggyBalls Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 Only use microwave safe dishes??Don't use a microwave!!(it does make hotdogs a fast convenient treat though...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c-towns Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 microwaves??Don't eat hotdogs!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaggyBalls Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 but the maple lodge ultimate chicken dogs were on saleand they're frickin huge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larry_llama Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 microwaves are good for the environment i think, they cook more efficiently than a regular oven. not to say they are good for cuisine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaggyBalls Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 Well that's looking at it from an energy consumption point of view, Larry Llama.Perhaps there are energy issues to solve yet...getting us to the point where we don't have to worry about consuming electricity.Looking forward, we will get to a point where renewable energy will be a reality and people won't have to think about cooking their food as potentialy putting a dent in their bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
backbacon Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 Don't use a microwave!Care to expand on that, fella? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afro poppa Posted November 25, 2008 Report Share Posted November 25, 2008 Or the development of transporter beams, like in Star Trek. Now, that would be cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nattyMatty Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 I remember when we got our first microwave way back in the mid 80's my mom cooked a roast of beef acording to the direction that came with the microwave. I don't remember eating the roast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Boy 2.0 Posted November 26, 2008 Report Share Posted November 26, 2008 ^great story! And now for something completely different Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.O.B.E Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 but the maple lodge ultimate chicken dogs were on saleand they're frickin huge!huge and full of lysteria!do microwaves kill lysteria or other bacterias? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaggyBalls Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 no they were chicken dogs.not maple leaf, maple lodge farms. all chicken.my new favourite wiener Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Boy 2.0 Posted November 27, 2008 Report Share Posted November 27, 2008 don't be like that baby Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattm Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 Turning plastic back into gas is cool except:1. It means it will take much longer to get off the gas if we can turn plastic back into gas -Air pollution continues2. What about the by-products? Nuclear energy is clean all they until you get to the left-overs which isn't clean at all. What about this process? Plastic isn't just gas, it has other things in it...Put to good use would be making more plastic out of the gas rather than burning it away but again, it'd be better if they could turn the plastic into something non-environmentally damaging or find something else that is friendly to make the plastic out of... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaggyBalls Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 "2. What about the by-products? Nuclear energy is clean all they until you get to the left-overs which isn't clean at all. What about this process? Plastic isn't just gas, it has other things in it..."Well the leftovers are the tailings. from mining. the 'waste' that people think of can be put into the reactor with thorium to turn back into uranium, and then expended again before more thorium is needed to recycle it.No need to mine for more uranium!!!so no more tailings......so you're very incorrect MattM.I hope you're very happy about this. Cause I am and the nuclear plants should be. No more bad PR...it's just more costly than mining new uranium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaggyBalls Posted November 28, 2008 Report Share Posted November 28, 2008 no more mining means no new shafts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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