India researchers make petrol from plastic

A team of Indian researchers claim to have developed a technology that converts plastic waste into high-quality diesel and petrol. The researchers at Dehradun-based Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), one of the constituent laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), say a combination of suitable catalysts can convert plastic into gasoline, diesel or aromatics.

According to a report published by Mail Today, IIP director M O Garg says the fuels obtained through the process employed in the technology meet Euro-III standards and are of ultra high-quality. Such a technology is so far available only in Germany, Japan and the US while Australia and the UK are still working on it, the media report says.

Quest for patent

The researchers claim diesel extracted from plastics will give better mileage than ordinary fuel because it has negligible quantity of sulpur content. IIP has applied for a patent and is planning to commercialise the technology. 

What's better, the researchers say the huge pile of plastics waste in India will actually make the process economical. “The current prices of petrol, which is derived from crude hydrocarbons, range between Rs 70 and Rs 80 per litre. Petrol in this case costs Rs 30-40 per litre. There is a mammoth amount of solid waste generated in the country. It could be procured at a minuscule cost,” Garg told Mail Today.

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