Ito Thinks Plastic Bags Recycled Back Into Oil Can Cut Down Our Carbon Footprint
Plastic bags are made with oil. So, why not recycle littered plastic back into oil? Akinoir Ito didn't think it would be very difficult and gave it a try. As a result he created a plastic to oil conversion machine.
That's right! Japanese inventor Akinori Ito has created a machine that can turn plastic bags into fuel. The machine heats the plastic and traps the gas from the burnt plastic. That gas is then cooled with water and turned into oil. It can be processed more to make oils such as: gasoline, diesel and kerosene. The machine can make about two pounds (1KG) of plastic into about a quart (1 liter of oil) of oil using 1 kilowatt of electricity. According to the Blest website the oil begins to be produced in 1 hour.
Ito has traveled by plane with the machine to various companies to spread the word to adults and children that plastic is an untapped oil field. Ito believes if we tap into this plastic oil field we would reduce our carbon emissions significantly. At the moment i costs $10,000 to own and run this machine
According to Clean Technica, Ito earned one of Mental Floss Magazine's annual "Golden Lobe" Awards for 2011 under the category "The Fantastic Plastic" award.
There is skepticism about the machines true abilities? Can it really do what Akinori Ito claims it can do and if so does the amount of energy it needs to recycle plastic into oil render the machine more wasteful than useful? Take a look at the YouTube video below and judge for yourself.