Nyeri man making fuel out of plasticas ban nears

Nyeri man making fuel out of plasticas ban nears

As the government is set to effect the ban of plastic bags within four days from now, a Nyeri man has offered an alternative on the reuse of the plastic containers as he uses them to make fuel.

He shares his perspective on the effect of the ban on his business.

To many, this is waste, an eye sore and degrading to the environment. But to one Michael Nthenge of Nyeri County, it is a means to an end; a richer end as he uses plastic waste to make different types of fuel including gasoline, diesel and kerosene.

As the government moves to conserve the environment by banning plastic carrier bags, the Mechanical Engineering Teacher at the Children and Youth Empowerment Center in Thunguma,  says inventions such as this could save the situation and at the same time offer jobs to many unemployed citizens.

Nthenge added that the ban will have little impact on his business saying that plastic raw material will still be available as the ban is on plastic packaging materials while he uses plastic containers.

Explaining the procedure, he said that he heats up plastics to between 200 and 500 degrees Celsius, breaking down the plastic components in a reactor which then proceeds to filtration and separation producing fuel through a process called pyrolysis: the byproducts of the whole process being bio friendly.

However, Ntheng lamented on lack of government support as a pioneer in the business in Kenya saying it is an area that has not been explored adding that the fuel he produces has been tested and approved by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

The engineer encouraged young men to take up innovated ways of making a living following his example.

Written by Elizabeth Kibor

Tags:

diesel kerosene Fuel gasoline Mechanical Engineer Plastic Carrier Bags Plastic containers

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