(509bk) Upcycling Plastic Waste into Plastic Derived Cooking Fuel in Developing Countries

Plastic waste is a critical challenge in developing countries, however, implementing circular economy solutions to address this challenge are problematic due to the lack of the necessary infrastructure to collect, sort and remanufacture plastic. Waste management solutions for developing communities must be based on the principles of appropriate technology to be successful. One potential solution is the conversion of post consumer polyolefin plastic waste into fuel oil by the process of slow pyrolysis. The process for converting polyolefin plastic in to fuel oil is well known, but the impacts of using this fuel in a developing world setting have not been properly explored. We will present the results of research to measure the use of cooking fuel produced from plastic waste as a clean cooking fuel. The results of laboratory and field experiments to measure the air emissions from the use of plastic derived fuel oil as a cooking fuel will be presented. The results of PM2.5, PM10, CO, NOx and SOx measurements using protocol established by the Clean Cooking Alliance will be included. This research is important because it addresses to global challenges in the developing world: 1) the accumulation of mismanaged post-consumer plastic waste, and 2) the issue of lung disease, especially in women, caused by open fire indoor cooking.