Why Is Thermal Depolymerization Not As Mainstream Of An Alternate Energy Source Given Its Tremendous Potential?
Thermal Depolymerization seems to be a very important process, both as an energy source and to dispose of waste. It is essentially an industrial process which mimics the way fossil fuels such as crude oil were formed. The process takes organic waste and subjects it to high temperature and pressure. This has the effect of breaking down the long chain organic polymers in the waste. The products are short chain hydrocarbon molecules, the same as those found in crude oil. It has been suggested that this process can use a wide variety of waste sources, including plastics, animal offal, tyres, sewage and medical waste. It would seem that this technology should be used in a large scale all over the developed world. In fact there is only one plant in the US which uses this technology to produce crude oil. Why is this? Probably the most important reason is that the technology is a very new idea and the pilot plant has not clearly demonstrated that investment in the area would pay off. There hav
