A low-temperature scientific technique has been developed to reprocess plastic bags into oil to power engines of automobiles. The product would be similar to liquid petrochemical fuels. Two Indian scientists, Achyut Kumar Panda of Centurion University of Technology and Management (Odisha) and Raghubansh Kumar Singh of the National Institute of Technology (Odisha), developed the process. According to their research paper, the LDPE can be converted into liquid fuel by heating the plastic waste of landfills at 400-5000Celsius over a kaolin catalyst making the long chain of polymer to break apart. This process is known as thermo-catalytic degradation.
If this scientific method is implemented, the polythene/plastics can be retrieved and segregated from the urban trash and converted into oil in lieu of fossil fuel. It has been proved that every kilogram of plastic waste could produce 700 grams of liquid fuel similar to fossil fuel. The residue or by-products were combustible gases and wax.
