Convert plastic into oil

[maybecnc]

Akinori Ito has developed a machine which converts plastic back into oil.
http://www.flixxy.com/convert-plastic-to-oil.htm

[Artie]

Great concept, but I wonder about the amount of energy required to convert it?

It also doesnt seem possible to get one litre of oil out of 1 Kilo of plastic... but thenvI really wouldnt have any idea.... Im sure this is being researched.... (conspiratorial theory now ) and being hushed  up by the all mighty oil companys.. etc etc etc...

[raynerd]

Hummm... is that not just "cracking" ? He even admits the temperature goes high - it looks to me like he is just cracking plastic polymers back into monomers, i.e   poly(ethene) back into ethene. I suppose if you had a mix of them you could call it "oil" but that is a loose word anyway. I`m pretty sure that machine is just applying a hige temperature and pressure. We do it in class with a small piece of poly(ethene) shopping bag. You can burn the ethene gas that is formed and you can even test it with bromine water to check that it has been converted back to an alkene. Cool machine, but not revolutionary if it is!! 

Here is a bit about cracking alkanes, but you can crack polymers as well. http://www.chemguide.co.uk/organicprops/alkanes/cracking.html

Maybe I`m wrong!

Chris