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Published on April 18, 2008

Pongpen Sutharoj

The Nation

A new technology can turn waste into value. From being something that people throw away, waste such as plastic and byproducts from manufacturing plants can become a key raw material for the production of fuel oil and electricity.

In an attempt to offer a possible solution to the world's energy crisis, Prompt Mark, a local engineering company, has joined hands with Rajamangala University of Technology, Thonburi to develop the world's first ever "waste-to-energy" solution which combines the two techniques of pyrolysis and gasification into one system.

Prompt Mark president Sombat Teekasap said the indigenously developed system can turn plastic waste into fuel oil at a higher rate rather than with gasification alone - something that is already available in the market.

In a test, the new system converted one kilogram of plastic waste into 0.5 litre of fuel oil. The gasification system produces just 0.3 litre using the same amount of plastic waste. The fuel oil can be used to run a diesel engine.

Plastic waste, Sombat said, would go through the pyrolysis process to break down the carbon-rich matter into simpler molecules, at temperatures of about 400 degree Celsius to 500 C.

The resulting gas is sent for the gasification process which takes place at 1,000 C, this time to break down the residual hydrocarbons into a synthetic gas by introducing a controlled amount of oxygen. After the gasification process is complete, fuel oil is obtained.

Sombat said fuel oil derived from the process could be used with diesel engines that are typically used in agricultural machines, to run a motorcycle or to generate electricity.

"We have designed the system to be able to input 200 kg of plastic waste per hour. At this rate, the system can produce fuel oil at 120 litres an hour and generate 200 kilowatts of electricity," he said.

Two-hundred kilowatts of electricity can serve the needs of 800 households. Thus, the system can be put in use as an alternative energy source in a manufacturing plant or in a small community.

The company spent three years in co-developing the system along with a research team at Rajamangala University of Technology. The system is now available for commercial use.

Prompt Mark will join hands with Royal Motor Works, a local waste-management company, to market the new system.

Sombat said the system will be sold at around Bt35 million. By using waste to produce energy, it is estimated that companies who buy the system will be able to break even within six years.

Prompt Mark also plans to develop the second version of the waste-to-energy system.

Sombat said the new version would increase the fuel oil yield from 0.5 litre per one kilogram of plastic waste to 0.6 litre.

Apart from offering an alternative for the generation of energy, it is hoped the new development will also help the country reduce plastic waste.