The Potential Plastic Oil Production from Plastics Waste (PET and LDPE) in Aceh, Indonesia

Plastics are non-degradable polymers which contain carbon, hydrogen and others elements (chlorine, nitrogen, etc.). Due to its non-biodegradable nature, this compound contributes significantly to the problem of the environmental issues. One of the solutions to solve the plastic waste problem is to convert to plastic oil. Waste plastic oil (WPO) production from Polyethylene terephthalate PET and/or Low-density poly ethylene LDPE oils is an effective way to meet requirement for fuel supply to internal combustion engine. This study evaluated the potential WPO production from PET and LDPE were collected and extracted from Aceh, Indonesia. Moreover, WPO has been produced by using thermal cracking methods under pyrolysis process. The properties of the WPO produced such as viscosity, density, acid value, research octane number (RON) and heating value have been determined. After analysing these properties, it could be concluded that it is possible to obtain diesel fuel from LDPE and gasoline fuel from PET. The WPO could be used as an alternative fuel for internal combustion engines in the future, having two benefits: to recover energy from waste and reduce the environmental problems caused by this waste.