FEI plans substantial further testing and trialling of its patented plastics to fuel technology with Integral Alliance in Victoria in late 2019.
Importantly, Integral Alliance has strong scientific and engineering experience gained from working on FEI’s plastics to fuel technology during its establishment period. For a nearly a decade, from the early 2000’s, this plastics to fuel technology operated via large-scale batch processing in Australian and then in Ireland. However, it required technical and production fine-tuning. The enormity of the production made problem solving difficult and held it back from commercial production.
In FY12/13, FEI was incorporated in Australia backed by Caason Group and acquired Ozmotech Pty Ltd’s Intellectual Property (IP) for construction and operation of this plastics to fuel plant.
FEI will now incorporate new IP and knowledge. This 2019 FEI trial with Integral Alliance will replace the large scale batch processing model that struggled in Ireland because of heat and char issues related to cooling and cleaning the vessels. Instead FEI’s plans will involve revised equipment allowing smaller scale yet continuous processing of contaminated co-mingled plastics.
FEI has also brainstormed scientific solutions to other production problems previously faced, which involve:
- building a stronger and lighter vessel that can be reliably heated to higher temperatures to avoid reformation of plastic waste and char vapours
- better dealing with contaminant material including co-mingled plastics
- converting the small amount of residue char to a non-reactive powder/inert char
