Systems and methods for recycling waste plastic can convert the waste plastic into a form of purified crude oil that includes one or more organic molecular species and that is free, or substantially free, of impurities such as acids and metals. In some systems and methods, the plastic is heated unde
Systems and methods for recycling waste plastic can convert the waste plastic into a form of purified crude oil that includes one or more organic molecular species and that is free, or substantially free, of impurities such as acids and metals. In some systems and methods, the plastic is heated under vacuum conditions to effect depolymerization of the plastic, which yields a vapor, and the vapor is then directly contacted with a pH adjusted solution in a vapor treatment system. In some systems and methods, a continuous batch process is employed.
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1. A method of recycling plastic, the method comprising: heating a container that has a plastic feedstock therein so as to effect depolymerization of the plastic feedstock;removing a vapor from the heated container, wherein the vapor comprises a gaseous organic species and a gaseous inorganic specie
1. A method of recycling plastic, the method comprising: heating a container that has a plastic feedstock therein so as to effect depolymerization of the plastic feedstock;removing a vapor from the heated container, wherein the vapor comprises a gaseous organic species and a gaseous inorganic species; andcondensing the organic species and separating the condensed organic species from the inorganic species by directly contacting the vapor with a pH adjusted solution. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein directly contacting the vapor with the pH adjusted solution causes absorption of the inorganic species into the solution. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the condensed organic species is less dense than water and is hydrophobic, and wherein separating the condensed organic species from the inorganic species comprises retaining the condensed organic species and the pH adjusted solution into which the inorganic species has been absorbed in a common tank. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein separating the condensed organic species from the inorganic species further comprises permitting at least a portion of the condensed organic species to flow over an upper edge of the tank while retaining the pH adjusted solution into which the inorganic species has been absorbed within the tank. 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising introducing at least a portion of the condensed organic species that has been separated from the inorganic species into a settling tank to permit further additional pH adjusted solution to be separated from the condensed organic species. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said directly contacting the vapor with a pH adjusted solution comprises bubbling the vapor through the pH adjusted solution. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein said directly contacting the vapor with a pH adjusted solution comprises spraying the vapor with the pH adjusted solution. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the condensed organic species is less dense than water and is hydrophobic and wherein separating the condensed organic species from the inorganic species comprises retaining the condensed organic species and the pH adjusted solution into which the inorganic species has been absorbed in a common tank, the method further comprising using the pH adjusted solution into which the inorganic species has been absorbed to spray additional vapor that has been removed from a heated container. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the organic species comprises a class of non-polar organic molecules. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the class of non-polar organic molecules is a paraffin, an olefin, a naphthene, or an aromatic. 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the vapor further comprises a species of polar organic molecules that at least partially partition into the pH adjusted solution, and wherein the method further comprises separating the non-polar organic molecules from the portion of the polar organic molecules that has partitioned into the pH adjusted solution. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the polar organic molecules comprise one or more of an alcohol, a ketone, an ether, a phenol, and a carboxylic acid. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the vapor further comprises one or more of an entrained metal species and an entrained metalloid species, the method further comprising separating the condensed organic species from the one or more entrained species. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein directly contacting the vapor with the pH adjusted solution causes absorption of the one or more entrained species into the solution, wherein the condensed organic species is less dense than water and is hydrophobic, and wherein separating the condensed organic species from the one or more entrained species comprises retaining the condensed organic species and the pH adjusted solution into which the one or more entrained species have been absorbed in a common tank. 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the vapor further comprises one or more species of acid molecules selected from inorganic and organic acids, the method further comprising separating the condensed organic species from the one or more species of acid molecules. 16. The method of claim 15, wherein directly contacting the vapor with the pH adjusted solution causes absorption of the one or more species of acid molecules into the solution, wherein the condensed organic species is less dense than water and is hydrophobic, and wherein separating the condensed organic species from the one or more species of acid molecules comprises retaining the condensed organic species and the pH adjusted solution into which the one or more species of acid molecules have been absorbed in a common tank. 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more species of acid molecules comprise at least one of hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, and terephthalic acid. 18. The method of claim 1, wherein the pH adjusted solution comprises an acid. 19. The method of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the vapor that is directly contacted by the pH adjusted solution remains uncondensed, the method further comprising delivering the uncondensed portion of the vapor to a caustic scrubber. 20. A method of recycling plastic, the method comprising: heating a plastic feedstock under negative pressure so as to effect depolymerization of the plastic feedstock and so as to produce a vapor that comprises a first component and a second component, wherein the first component comprises a gaseous organic species and the second component comprises one or more of an atomic species and a molecular species;condensing the gaseous organic species of the first component and separating the organic species of the first component from the one or more of an atomic species and a molecular species of the second component by directly contacting the vapor with a pH adjusted solution. 21. The method of claim 20, wherein at least a portion of the second component of the vapor is in a gaseous state before the vapor is directly contacted with the pH adjusted solution. 22. The method of claim 21, wherein directly contacting the vapor with a pH adjusted solution condenses at least a portion of the second component. 23. The method of claim 20, wherein the second component of the vapor comprises one or more of a metal species, a polar organic species, an organic acid species, and inorganic acid species. 24. The method of claim 20, wherein the organic species of the first component of the vapor comprises one or more species of non-polar organic molecules. 25. The method of claim 20, wherein directly contacting the vapor with the pH adjusted solution causes absorption of at least a portion of the second component into the solution, wherein the condensed organic species of the first component is less dense than water and is hydrophobic, and wherein separating the condensed organic species from the second component comprises retaining the condensed organic species and the pH adjusted solution into which at least a portion of the second component has been absorbed in a common reservoir. 26. The method of claim 20, wherein separating the condensed organic species from the second component further comprises permitting at least a portion of the condensed organic species to flow over an upper edge of the reservoir while retaining the pH adjusted solution into which at least a portion of the second component has been absorbed within a separate region of the reservoir. 27. The method of claim 20, wherein said directly contacting the vapor with a pH adjusted solution comprises bubbling the vapor through the pH adjusted solution. 28. The method of claim 20, wherein said directly contacting the vapor with a pH adjusted solution comprises spraying the vapor with the pH adjusted solution. 29. The method of claim 28, wherein directly contacting the vapor with the pH adjusted solution causes absorption of at least a portion of the second component into the solution, wherein the condensed organic species is less dense than water and is hydrophobic, and wherein separating the condensed organic species from the second component comprises retaining the condensed organic species and the pH adjusted solution into which at least a portion of the second component has been absorbed in a common reservoir, the method further comprising spraying additional vapor obtained from the plastic feedstock with the pH adjusted solution into which the second species has been absorbed. 30. A system for recycling plastic, the system comprising: a sealable container configured to receive a plastic feedstock therein, the container comprising a vacuum port; a plenum sized to receive at least a portion of the container therein; a burner in fluid communication with the plenum, wherein the burner is configured to apply heat to the container when the container is received within the plenum so as to convert at least a portion of the plastic feedstock into a vapor comprising constituent components including organic molecular species and inorganic species; a vapor condensing system that comprises a pH adjusted solution; and a vacuum system in fluid communication with the vacuum port of the container, wherein the vacuum system is configured to maintain a vacuum within the container during heating of the container and is further configured to remove the vapor from the container and introduce the vapor into the vapor condensing system, and wherein the vapor condensing system is configured to directly contact the vapor with the pH adjusted solution so as to condense organic molecular species and absorb inorganic impurities, thereby separating constituent components of the vapor.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (38)
Holloway Clifford C. (39368 Camp Dr. Praireville LA 70769), Apparatus and method for preparation for separation, recovery, and recycling of municipal solid waste and the like.
Evans, Robert J.; Chum, Helena L., Controlled catalystic and thermal sequential pyrolysis and hydrolysis of polycarbonate and plastic waste to recover monomers.
Evans Robert J. (Lakewood CO) Chum Helena L. (Arvada CO), Controlled catalytic and thermal sequential pyrolysis and hydrolysis of polymer waste comprising nylon 6 and a polyolefi.
Frączak, Daria; Samardakiewicz, Bartlomiej, Method of production of high-value hydrocarbon products from waste plastics and apparatus for method of production of high-value hydrocarbon products from waste plastics.
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