TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – A team comprising Gadjah Mada University (UGM) students successfully created fuel from plastic waste by using the heat from a vehicle's exhaust pipe to transform plastic into gas. The gas would then enter a reactor pyrolysis following the gasification.
This principle idea paved the way for the Chemical Engineering Department team to win two categories in the Shell Ideas 360 in London. The UGM team won the judges' choice and audience voice categories, defeating 3,336 teams from universities across 140 countries.
“This is still a fundamental idea. [Many] have created fuel from plastic but we were the only one to utilize a vehicle’s exhaust's heat,” said Herman Amrullah from the Smart Car MCS (Microalgae Cultivation Support) at the Gadjah Mada University on Monday, July 23.
The team comprises Herman Amrullah, Sholahuddin Alayyubi, Thya Laurencia Benedita Araujo, and Naufal Muflih.
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The device that the team developed is a reservoir tube that accommodates plastic waste, which is then flowed by the exhaust gas from a vehicle’s engine. The heat created by the gas would burn the plastics in a process called pyrolysis. The chemical reaction is then transferred to a tub to accommodate the materials in the form of fuel.
Not only does the device produce fuel, but vehicles that have been installed with this device can greatly reduce 16.88 percent of its carbon emissions since carbon captures are installed on the exhaust pipe's end.
“Our idea is to develop technology that can transform plastic waste into liquid fuel and also to reduce a vehicle’s gas emissions,” Herman explained.
The UGM team’s idea is able to create 1.2 liters of liquid fuel material from one kilogram of plastic waste, excluding the hazardous PVC plastic that contains chloride.
MUH. SYAIFULLAH (CONTRIBUTOR)
