CHAPTER I

BACKGROUND OF THE DESIGN PROJECT

I. Introduction
Plastic is one of the most commonly used materials in our daily lives. It
has been commonly accessible for about the last one hundred years. Plastics are
relatively cost, versatile, and resistant to water. Due to its characteristics, plastics
are used in a vast and increasing range of products.
One of the major problems our society is facing today is the waste plastics
disposal. This results to environmental pollution due to its large volume and
difficulty in treating them. Landfilling and incineration is the most commonly used
methods on how we generate wastes. Large portion of the waste we generate is
buried in landfills while other wastes are incinerated via combustion. Both
methods have negative impact to the environment. Landfills may contain many
microorganisms which accelerate breakdown wherein methane, a very powerful
greenhouse gas, is released as these plastics are broken down and contributes
to global warming. On the other hand, incineration uses heat which causes even
more pollution.
Pyrolysis is one of the ways on how to generate wastes. It is define as a
treatment which uses heat to decompose a component in the absence of oxygen.
Pyrolysis is like gasification which converts waste into energy rich fuels by
heating the waste under controlled conditions. One of the advantages of this
process is the decrease of greenhouse effect gases. It also produces a
marketable product and it minimize the risk of health consequences.
Today, sophisticated technologies are available for plastic waste
management. Pyrolysis is one such technique used not only for waste disposal
but to produce useful products like industrial diesel, gaseous fuel, carbon black
etc. This project discuss the pyrolysis of waste plastics into useful gaseous and
liquid fuels.
The proposed pyrolysis plant will be very beneficial to the community
specifically to the energy and the environment sector. The industrial diesel
produced will be used in the plant to power the reactors, generators, pumps and
furnace.

II. Design Objectives
The general objective of this project is to design a Waste Plastic Pyrolysis Plant
that will process waste plastics to produce pyrolysis oil which may be utilized as a
substitute for industrial diesel.
This project design specifically aims to meet the following objectives for the
proposed plant to be socio-economically viable:
1. Determine the required data and information for the project design. This must
specifically cover the following:
1.1 . Technical Data and Information
1.2 . Economic Data
1.3 Assumptions
2. Consider the technical aspects involved in designing a Waste Plastic Pyrolysis
Plant. This includes the following:
2.1. Cycle Diagram
2.2. Components of the Plants
2.3. Equipment Design and Specifications
3. Conduct an economic analysis that will cover the following parameters:
3.1. Capital Costs
3.2. Operating Costs
3.3. Payback Period
3.4. Net Present Value
3.5. Rate of Return
4. Consider the design calculations which includes the following:
4.1 Mass Balance
4.2 Equipment Selection

5. Consider the environmental aspects of the proposed plant which includes the
following:
4.1 Waste Generation
4.2 Mitigation Measures
4.3 Environmental Impacts
6. Provide a Project Construction Execution Plan for the proposed design. This
includes the following:
5.1. Construction Strategy
5.2. Project Controls
5.3. Project Scheduling
5.4. Quality Assurance
5.5. Risk Assessment
7. Present a Summary of Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations