Ocean plastic recycling

project

Photo by Jeremy Bezanger
Goals and objectives
List of required equipment
Project cost

Eco International Fund
ocean plastic recycling project

Our partners, Marine Bell LLC, developed a project to modernize and re-equip a marine vessel to turn it into a floating plastic recycling plant that recycles floating debris and ocean plastic waste up to 100%. Vessel with unlimited navigation area and autonomy 300 days a year.

Goals and objectives

The goal of the project is to modernize and re-equip the vessel to achieve 100% recycling of marine plastics that does not require interaction with coastal infrastructure. The amount of recycled plastics is not less than 10 tons per day. Concurrently, all exhaust gases that enter the atmosphere during the recycling process are purified to the level of compliance with the Kyoto Convention.

Vessel Photo by Maksym Zakharyak

In the process of recycling one ton of plastic, the following substances will be released:

  1. Syngas from pyrolysis – 118 m3;
  2. Various fractions of light pyrolysis oil -750 liters;
  3. Heavy pyrolysis oil fractions – 90 liters;
  4. Carbon black – 10 kg.
  • The syngas is used in the waste recycling process. Surplus can be sold to consumers ashore. During gas combustion, it is filtered to achieve a level of compliance with all international standards.
  • The pyrolysis oil obtained in the recycling process undergoes primary processing and is divided into two fractions: light and heavy. It is stored in special tanks on board. This crude oil is then transported by tankers to the onshore infrastructure for further processing and refining into five fractions through container-type mobile rectification columns.
    The resulting oil can be used in power plants on board. Surplus oil can be sold to consumers for use both ashore for generating electricity in container-type mobile power plants, and at sea by other vessels.
    The pyrolysis oil can also be pumped into empty oil wells.
  • Carbon black is pressed, stored in the vessel’s hold and then can be sold to companies that use it as an additive in their production, such as oil companies, enterprises that produce rubber products, asphalt plants, etc..

Project cost

Estimated total project cost : € 13.8 million euro

# Expenses
1. Offshore vessel 80-90 meters in length
2. Design, coordination and approval of documents in various organizations
3. Equipment
4. Re-equipment of the vessel at the shipyard
5. Administrative expenses
6. Fuel and supplies for the passage of the vessel to the area of work
Crane Photo by Anand Mukhiya

List of required equipment

There are enterprises that develop and manufacture required equipment and waste recycling machines for processing this type of plastic waste.

List of required equipment for the construction of a floating plastic recycling plant:

# Equipment Quantity
1. Mobile mini-installation for thermal destruction of wastes complete with a filter station and capacitors, with a capacity of 3 tons per day (used for plastics and oil spills) 4 pcs
2. Receiving hopper specially designed for plastics and petroleum products 1 pcs
3. Conveyor system for transporting plastics to the plant 1 pcs
4. Crusher for large plastic waste 1 pcs
5. Continuous electric melting furnace for microplastics and crushed parts 1 pcs
6. Chiller unit for cooling molten plastic 1 pcs
7. Crusher for plastic obtained after melting and cooling 1 pcs
8. Dryer 2 pcs
9. Special construction seine net 1 pcs
10. Net hauler with winches and net drum 1 pcs
11. Ultrasonic sonar 1 pcs
12. Motorboat for deploying seine net 1 pcs
13. Crane for lifting / lowering a motorboat 1 pcs
14. Hydraulic floating pump 1 pcs
15. Crane for lifting a pump 1 pcs
16. Manipulator crane for additional work 4 pcs
17. Installation with a compressor for collecting excess synthesis gas 1 pcs
18. Pump for pumping pyrolysis oil 3 pcs
19. Installation for separating pyrolysis liquid into two fractions 2 pcs
20. Fuel separator 2 pcs
21. Container-type mobile rectification plant. Column height ~ 10 m. 1 pcs