From: mk_thisisit
Adam Hańderek, a Polish innovator, has developed a pyrolysis technology that transforms plastic waste into high-quality fuel for vehicles [01:14:40], [01:18:18]. This technology, which is the subject of patents in the United States, Canada, and the European Union [00:35:54], represents a significant advancement in converting plastic waste into fuel and innovative recycling methods for textiles and building materials.
Technology Overview
The process used is based on thermolysis or pyrolysis, which has been known since polyethylene was first subjected to it in 1941 [01:43:41]. While many companies have worked on this process, Adam Hańderek’s specific technology stands out because it produces fuel of such high quality that it doesn’t require additional technological processes in refineries [02:05:39], [07:28:44]. The resulting product has physicochemical parameters that allow it to be directly poured into diesel or petrol engines [00:14:14], [02:18:22].
Input Materials
The technology can process various types of plastic waste:
- Polyethylene, including plastic bags [00:06:03], milk bottles, and containers for household chemicals [02:30:17].
- Polypropylene, a harder material typically found in boxes and other packaging [02:42:09].
- Polystyrene, including insulation removed from old buildings (30-40 years old) [02:55:00].
Economic and Environmental Advantages
The production of fuel from plastic waste using this method is significantly cheaper than producing it from crude oil [02:55:00], [03:13:00]. This cost efficiency stems from the fact that plastic waste has already undergone processes similar to crude oil purification, such as desulfurization, dehydration, and distillation [03:32:00]. The waste materials are essentially “clean” and only need to be broken down [03:55:00].
From an environmental impact perspective, this technology offers substantial ecological savings by diverting plastic from landfills and reducing reliance on crude oil [06:24:23]. In Poland alone, approximately 1.5 million tons of plastic waste are produced annually that are not suitable for traditional mechanical recycling [04:23:00]. Processing all this waste could satisfy at least 5% of Poland’s annual fuel demand [04:56:00]. Future EU directives (RYT 2 and RYT 3) are equalizing biological fuels and “coal fuels” produced from plastic waste, making these fuels a forced component of engine fuels, with this technology potentially meeting half of the required 10% bio-component demand [05:08:00].
Challenges to Commercialization
Despite the technological advancements and benefits, the commercialization of this fuel is an expensive and complex process [07:45:00].
- Existing pyrolysis processes are often primitive, producing raw materials that need further refining [07:08:00], unlike Hańderek’s direct-use fuel [07:34:25].
- A significant challenge has been securing funding for the first commercial-industrial installation [08:23:00]. Subsidies from the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development in the amount of millions of PLN could not be used due to dramatic increases in material and engineering service costs caused by global geopolitical changes and COVID-19 [08:42:00]. A budget that was initially 48-50 million PLN increased to almost 75 million PLN [09:31:00].
- Hańderek’s team is currently in the process of applying for European Union funds to construct a plant in Poland [10:21:00]. The path from invention to commercialization can be very long, as exemplified by a colleague’s similar fuel component invention which took 17 years to commercialize [11:00:00].
NOTE
The speaker notes that despite having patents in the US, Canada, and the EU, and significant international interest (including letters of intent for several dozen installations), the lack of a built commercial-industrial installation hinders further progress [08:00:00].
Other Recycling Initiatives
Adam Hańderek is involved in other recycling methods beyond fuel:
Textile Recycling
A major focus is on recycling polyester clothing, which often contains mixtures of fibers like cotton or polyamide [18:01:00]. Hańderek’s team developed a technology to rinse out raw materials for polyester production from these mixed fabrics, leaving other materials like cotton on a sieve [18:39:00]. This method is considered a technological novelty and has received a positive assessment from the Polish Patent Office [20:31:00]. This differs from PET bottle recycling, which involves clean, homogeneous material, whereas clothing is always a mixture with threads, additions, and prints [21:19:00].
Polyester in clothing
Approximately 80% of clothing is made of polyester [19:12:00]. The friction during washing polyester clothing produces microplastic particles that enter the water and eventually the drinking water supply [16:08:00], [16:41:00].
Building Materials from Waste
Hańderek’s team also works on producing building materials, such as bricks, from MDF dust (from cutting furniture boards) [23:29:00]. MDF dust is problematic due to its phenol-formaldehyde resins, which cause high harmful emissions when burned [23:47:00]. They invented a mineral-based binder (not cement) that gives the material hardness and flame retardant properties [24:26:00]. This innovative binder allows the use of various waste materials like sawdust, straw, and even paper that paper mills reject [26:21:00]. This is presented as a new invention not yet widely known [25:26:00].
Coffee Grounds Recycling
Hańderek’s interest in recycling stems from observing his grandparents’ practices, where nothing was wasted [27:01:00]. This included his grandmother using grain coffee grounds as feed for piglets to prevent diarrhea [27:20:00]. He applied this principle in his first professional job in meat plants in the 1980s, where he created a BB mixture from beef and pork stomach contents, technical blood, and coffee grounds (from the Inka Grain coffee factory) as a filler [29:42:00]. This mixture, rich in protein, was used as animal feed [30:03:00].
Philosophy and Vision
Hańderek, who is not a titular scientist but studied veterinary medicine [32:55:00], attributes his innovative approach to the words of his chemistry teacher, who repeated Einstein’s maxim: “imagination is everything” [36:14:00]. He emphasizes the importance of thinking outside conventional schemes learned in academia to find new solutions [37:32:00]. He aims to create “eternally alive” clothes from old ones, continuously recycling raw materials [19:42:00].
While recognized internationally with awards at invention fairs [39:00:00], including the Grand Prix at a fair in Barcelona [40:17:00], his projects are still largely awaiting full commercialization [42:42:00]. The fuel production is the closest to commercialization [40:58:00]. His research and development work are currently financed by shareholders and companies like LPP [41:35:00]. Hańderek believes that with honest business partners, the vast number of daily waste materials, such as 9,000 tons of coffee grounds produced daily in the EU, can be recycled [42:45:00].