FUEL EXTRACTION FROM THERMOCOL WASTE

Hafis Muhammed, Sreenivas P

Abstract: Thermocol is the expanded form of Polystyrene which is a plastic very commonly used in its hard form as well as expanded foam. Thermocol is a brand name given by the company BASF. This material finds wide usage in the packaging industry, model and craft industry as well as in the construction and insulation industry. Thermocol is slow to biodegrade and is therefore a focus of controversy among environmentalists. Thermocol does not biodegrade for hundreds of years and is resistant to photolysis. Animals do not recognize polystyrene foam as an artificial material and may even mistake it for food. It blows in the wind and floats on water, due to its low specific gravity. It can have serious effects on the health of birds or marine animals that swallow significant quantities. It is increasingly abundant as a form of litter in the outdoor environment, particularly along shores and waterways, especially in its foam form, and also in increasing quantities in the Pacific Ocean. The primary objective of this paper is to provide a solution for the disposal of increasing amount of thermocol wastes in our society. A pyrolysis plant has been setup for extracting fuel from this thermocol waste and to find a way to decrease the use of fossil fuels.

Keywords: THERMOCOL , WASTE

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15623/ijret.2018.0702015