Burning Plastic in a Rocket Stove

I have lately been exploring the possibility of designing a rocket stove to burn plastic safely. This is potentially one of the most exciting new projects on the drawing board.

I’ve been researching the temperature requirements of plastic combustion, and am currently waiting to hear back from a professor who specialises in plastics to make sure that the combustion process will be clean and safe, and so far initial indications are that this is very possible.

The implications of turning waste plastic (currently littering every stream and roadside though the mountains) into a free source of energy is immense. Assuming that this can be realised, then there are various issues about how this would be implemented, one of them being whether to centralise these units or to spread to as many locations as possible.

If they can be made foolproof, then my plan would be to get them built for as many guesthouses as possible so as to create a demand for plastic to heat water for tourists. If there is some technical operational aspects that require training, then it may prove to be more conducive to centralise one large industrial sized unit in each village with energy generated to be used by a communal facility, such as a school.

There is potential to make units such as these that will heat water and possibly also run a central heating unit for a house or guesthouse.