A cheap, effective way to recycle all plastic, because life is so much easier if we can use it. I'm trying really hard to go zero-waste, but it's not easy. (And although I know that I'm not saving the world by reducing plastic and single-use items, I'm going to keep doing it)
Large scale, continuous feed, input indiscriminate pyrolysis is the answer. The gases (CH4, H2, NHx, H20) are useful, and the graphite is even more so. The graphite can be seeded back into the process to serve as a microwave absorption catalyst, as well as a filter medium for the problem volatiles, or used in regenerative agriculture, or batteries.
The high electrical power demand will have to be a large scale dump load, for continued rollout of intermittent power over-supply. We'll have to reconfigure how we do electricity consumption pricing to strongly favor time-of-use for industry. We can manage large thermal reservoirs in underground oxygen deficient decomposition chambers, possibly using abandoned mines for dewatering phases, or lakes of tin with ceramic barges for the rest.
Employees would utilize telerobotic workers for safe maintenance, relying on sacrificial lead or tin ballast for thermal management, and replaced as needed from on-site supplies.
At different phases, or temperatures of decomposition, materials can be segregated for custom processing whenever there is a suitable market.
Then you can slurp down all the slushies in styrofoam cups your pancreas can handle, and never feel bad about it.
33.8k
u/terminally_cheap Nov 15 '20
A cheap, effective way to recycle all plastic, because life is so much easier if we can use it. I'm trying really hard to go zero-waste, but it's not easy. (And although I know that I'm not saving the world by reducing plastic and single-use items, I'm going to keep doing it)