Envion Launches Plastic Waste to Oil Converter

Earlier this month, Envion Inc. introduced the Envion Oil Generator(TM) (EOG), technology that converts any type of plastic waste into high quality, synthetic light medium oil for less than $10 per barrel. The first commercial unit was demonstrated at the Montgomery County Solid Waste Transfer Station in Derwood, MD.

As a petroleum-based product, plastic contains a huge amount of stored energy that literally goes to waste with conventional disposal methods. Envion’s technology reclaims that energy and provides it in a form that is immediately commercially viable: oil.

Through the use of this technology, one ton of waste plastic can be converted into approximately four 42-gallon barrels of high quality, synthetic light to medium oil. This oil is a refined and 99% sediment free product that can be used to produce gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and kerosene.

“About 8% of world crude oil production is used to manufacture plastic,” Envion CEO Michael S. Han. “The EOG uses a closed loop, catalyst-free system to take plastic and convert it back into oil safely, efficiently, and economically.”

Each individual unit can process up to 10,000 tons of plastic waste annually, generating as much as 50,000 barrels of oil. With full national deployment, the EOG could generate over 150,000,000 barrels of oil each year in the United States alone. Additionally, the EOG is capable of processing all types of plastic waste, thus reducing the time and cost of sorting plastic by type.

Envion’s approach provides a comprehensive solution that has the potential to remove plastic waste from landfills, freeing up the estimated 24% of capacity that plastic occupies. The United States produces approximately 50 million tons of plastic waste per year, the vast majority of which ends up taking up space in landfills.

With the ability of a single EOG to eliminate 10,000 tons of plastic per year, at a cost of $17 per ton, the EOGis a cost effective alternative to the $70-$200 cost range of landfill disposal. And according to the EPA, recycling programs process only 6.8% of plastic waste and are not as cost effective, costing between $50 and $150 per ton of plastic recycled.

The Envion process converts plastic into energy without the need for fossil fuel combustion. The technology requires only minimal energy input and is fully automated, allowing the facility to operate with only two operators.

Envion is expected to have multiple EOGs in full operation within months. Envion’s EOG is a shovel-ready, green technology.

“Given the shortage of sustainable plastic waste disposal alternatives, Envion is poised to capitalize on the substantial benefits of licensing its groundbreaking technology,” continued Han.