1. What amount of plastic does it take to make the Polymer Energy machine an option for our waste-to-fuel operations?

The Polymer Energy machine reaches economies of scale when processing around 8 tons or more of PE and PP plastic every 24 hours. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states one ton of plastic would take up 7.4 cubic yards (6.8 cubic meters) of landfill space. A typical 40 foot cargo container holds up to 11 tons of compacted plastic. The result is about 5 cargo container loads of plastic are needed a week to run the machine efficiently.

2. What type of waste problem is Polymer Energy Technology best suited to solve?

Polymer Energy waste-to-fuel technology is meant to help the problem of nuisance and hazardous plastic waste. Some examples of candidates the technology may be an economically viable solution for are:

• Municipalities running out of landfill space
• Facilities that want to process large volumes of difficult to recycle PP and PE plastics
• Organizations with a high volume of manufacturing plastic waste or plastics that can not be disposed of in a landfill such as meat wrappings
• Waste sites and recycling plants receiving large volumes of plastic waste at low cost or free or charge at or above 4 tons a day
• Organizations that want an environmentally responsible alternative to landfill disposal or incineration and/or to reduce their tax burden and waste disposal fees

3. What type of plastic wastes can the Polymer Energy system process?

The Polymer Energy system is designed to primarily process polyolefins i.e. polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP). The plastic waste is typically of the following types:

• Disposable sacks and shopping bags
• Packaging used for cleansers, cleaning products and cosmetics
• Plastic bottle caps, parts of household appliances, computers and office equipment
• Plastic containers, tanks, parts of piping and insulation of cables

The plastics waste fed into the system should adhere to the following guidelines:

Resin Code	Description	Example	Guideline
	PET	Plastic Bottles for Soda and Water, Microwave Food Trays, Textiles	Not Recommended
	HDPE	Plastic Bags, Milk Jugs, Detergent Bottles, Cosmetic Bottles	Recommended
	PVC	Shrink Wrap, Pipe, Siding, Blister Packs, Laminate Flooring	Not Recommended
	LDPE, LLDPE	Bags for Dry Cleaning and Produce, Stretch Wrap, Wire Coverings	Recommended
	PP	Bottle Caps, Appliances, Automotive Parts, Computer Parts	Recommended
	PS	Cutlery, Cups, CD Cases, Packing Peanuts, Food Containers, Styrofoam	Not Recommended
	Other	Mixed or Layered Plastics	Varies depending upon type of plastic

In general, we recommend that you discuss the composition of your plastic waste stream with Polymer Energy^®, LLC. to ensure the optimal operation of the process.

Properties of Plastic .pdf

4. Does the plastic waste need to be pre-sorted or cleaned prior to processing?

Yes. 

Typically the Polymer Energy system can process plastics waste with up to 15% of the following contaminants:

• Non PE or PP Plastics
• Mineral impurities up to 10%
• Water up to 10% by weight

The non-plastic contaminants are converted into ash which is automatically removed from the system during the normal cleaning cycle of the system.

5. What is the operational efficiency of the Polymer Energy system?

The Polymer Energy system is modular in design. Each module typically produces 775 liters of fuel for every ton of plastic waste processed. With an output of about 200 liters per hour. This assumes up to 15% of contaminates in the plastics waste. A single module can process nominally 8 tons per day. The throughput capacity is directly dependent upon the quality of the input plastics waste. The system is designed to be self-cleaning process and any contaminants in the input plastic waste stream are automatically removed from the system as an ash by-product.

For further information on this system, please contact Polymer Energy^®, LLC.