May 15th, 2013
Evolution of the P2O Process
Year 1 | 2009
The evolution of the Plastic2Oil process began in 2009, when John Bordynuik designed a laboratory desktop processor unit which would use a proprietary catalyst to transform multiple types of unwashed waste plastic into marketable, high quality fuels.
In December 2009, JBI contracted IsleChem, LLC of Grand Island, NY to assist with chemical, analytical and process engineering. (Image: Testing at IsleChem)
Year 2 | 2010
In April 2010, after multiple test runs, IsleChem validated that our P2O process was repeatable and scalable. IsleChem also concluded that almost 90% of the hydrocarbon composition in the plastic feedstock is converted into a "near diesel" fuel, which means diesel combined with lighter fractions of gasoline.
Following this exciting development in early 2010, JBI began to scale the model up to a 1-ton processor and purchased a pilot plant to house the processor.
Another scale-up occurred in year 2 – from a 1-ton processor to a 20-ton processor.
In the fall of 2010, once the 20-ton processor was constructed, the Company proceeded with a air emissions stack test that was conducted by Conestoga-Rovers & Associates (CRA).
The CRA stack test results confirmed that the P2O processor emissions were not only well below the maximum allowed under a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Air Permit, but also approximately 14% oxygen was emitted back into the air through the stack from our process.
In December 2010, we were issued a consent order by the NYSDEC to continue testing the large scale, 20-ton processor.
Year 3 | 2011
During the Q1 of 2011, major additions and modifications were made to the processor, including back-end refining and fuel quality enhancement.On June 14, 2011, the NYSDEC issued all permits necessary for JBI to operate our P2O processors in Niagara Falls, NY. We continued to enhance the machine with in-line additive blending to further refine the automation of the process, leading to better quality control.
In December 2011, CRA conducted a second successful stack test on the first processor. The results of this second stack test showed emissions decreased with increased plastic feed rates, which further validates the P2O process as highly green, clean and scalable.
Year 4 | 2012
During Q1 of 2012, the Company successfully brought Processor No. 2 online at its Niagara Falls facility.
The design of the second processor was based on data retrieved while working with the original P2O processor, which had undergone a number of substantial upgrades. The enhancements include a replicable and deployable modular design that leverages economies of scale with our manufacturers, the ability to cater to specific fuel needs of customers and a reduction of stack emissions.
JBI is currently permitted to operate at rate of 4,000 lbs. of plastic feedstock per hour per machine at the Company's Niagara Falls, NY facility.
Moving into Q2 2012, towers and reactors have been fabricated for the third P2O processor and the Company looks forward to bringing Processor No. 3 online in the near future.
In April 2012, JBI received a positive independent third party engineering report that validated and verified the technology and economics of the P2O process.
