Circular Economy

Welcome to Gas oil energy prosper e.K., your trusted partner in the circular economy, up-cycling, recycling, and reprocessing industry. We specialize in innovative solutions that transform waste materials into valuable resources, promoting sustainability and reducing environmental impact.

Why waste matters?

The traditional use of biomass involves simple combustion, often of materials like wood, leaves, or waste. While this practice is gradually declining, it still accounts for 6.7% of global energy consumption, particularly prevalent in low-income communities with limited access to alternative energy sources. However, this method is notably inefficient and releases harmful particulate matter that adversely affects people's health

Wood Pellets

The practice of burning biomass, including trees, is also being incorporated into the carbon neutrality strategies of governments worldwide. This involves the use of wood pellets, which have seen a significant surge in demand over the past decade. The United States leads as the world's largest exporter of wood pellets, with a commanding 62% market share. Typically derived from wood residues like sawdust or wood chips, these pellets have become a sought-after energy source.

However, concerns have been raised by think tanks and non governmental organizations regarding the environmental impact of this growing demand, particularly the destruction of natural forests and habitats in Eastern Europe and North America due to illegal logging. Despite this, major customers such as the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, and the European Union continue to drive demand. While some wood pellets are used in households for heating with modern stoves, the majority are utilized in larger power plants. Some of these plants employ a cofiring method, combining wood pellets with coal to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Recognizing woody biomass as renewable, policymakers in the US, EU, and UK have subsidized the production and burning of wood pellets. In fact, in 2021, the largest power plant in the UK received approximately one billion euros in subsidies for this purpose, according to an energy think tank. While many countries do not include emissions from wood-fired power plants in their carbon calculations, citing the regrowth of trees as a carbon sink, producers are required to reforest areas to offset emissions. In the United States, reforestation efforts typically involve planting two to four trees for every one cut down, although these are often small pine trees.

Our comprehensive services include up-cycling, recycling, and reprocessing technologies designed to maximize resource efficiency and minimize waste. Whether you're looking to reduce landfill waste, recover valuable materials, or create sustainable products, our experienced team is here to support your circular economy initiatives.

Partner with Gas oil energy prosper e.K. to unlock the potential of up-cycling and recycling, and together, we can build a more sustainable future by closing the loop and creating a circular economy that benefits both businesses and the planet. Join us in transforming waste into opportunity and embracing a more sustainable approach to resource management.

Waste utilization instead of deforestation

Substituting wood for coal initially leads to an increase in atmospheric CO2 levels. A study revealed that depending on the forest type, it may take anywhere from 44 to 104 years for newly planted trees to sequester the same amount of carbon absorbed by the trees that were harvested. While over a century, trees— pine or otherwise, along with agricultural crops—prove to be viable energy sources, over shorter timeframes of 25 to 40 years, their efficacy diminishes, especially considering forests' critical role as carbon sinks.

Forests capture roughly one-third of all anthropogenic carbon emissions, making them indispensable in combating global warming. The Natural Resource Defense Committee advocates for forest protection, emphasizing the importance of older trees in carbon storage and the preservation of critical forest ecosystems. Studies from the Institute of Physics suggest that replanted forests, particularly those with fast-growing tree species, absorb less CO2 than natural forests.

Relying solely on burning wood in large-scale power plants, like the ones seen in the UK, will not lead us to carbon neutrality. Instead, countries should invest in true renewables like wind and solar energy. However, there is potential in fast-growing plants as an alternative, as they can absorb carbon more rapidly than trees. For instance, repurposing old tobacco or cotton lands for industrial hemp cultivation to produce hemp-based pellets for energy consumption in Europe is a viable option. Achieving sustainable biomass production with a positive carbon impact is feasible, but it requires meticulous consideration of factors such as biomass type and land usage.

The current utilization of just 4% of agricultural land worldwide for energy production falls short of meeting global energy demands. However, the majority of available land is allocated for food crops, leaving limited space for energy plants. Despite claims of superiority, many forms of biomass energy fall short of expectations. Merely substituting wood for coal fails to address emissions concerns, as even sustainably sourced wood or wood waste still generates emissions when burned. However, wood waste can be efficiently processed by bacteria at biogas facilities can contribute to waste management cycles. Despite these efforts, biomass energy remains a minor contributor to our global energy needs. While it can complement other renewable sources, it lacks scalability to serve as our primary energy source in the future

Pyrolysis technology presents a transformative method for converting waste into usable energy, offering a green and environmentally friendly solution for our planet. By breaking down hard-to-degrade and environmentally polluting waste, pyrolysis efficiently transforms waste oil into a mixture of gases, liquids, and solids.

This process, also known as high-temperature pyrolysis or gasification, primarily yields syngas, with typical proportions of 60% bio-oil, 20% biochar, and 20% syngas. In contrast, slow pyrolysis can produce a higher proportion of char. Pyrolysis oils, alternatively termed bio-oils or wood fluids, are derived from the thermal decomposition of biomass components like cellulose and lignin.

Waste tire, plastic, and rubber are common feedstocks for pyrolysis plants, each yielding varying amounts of oil. While diesel is derived from crude oil, pyrolysis oil offers a green alternative obtained from biomass. Economic analyses indicate that pyrolysis oil can effectively replace diesel, provided its price remains below 85% of diesel oil.

However, challenges such as technical complexity, air pollution, and feedstock considerations must be addressed. Despite these drawbacks, pyrolysis holds immense potential in waste management, offering valuable products like fuel oil, carbon black, and syngas while presenting environmental and economic benefits. Proper planning, investment, and adherence to regulations are crucial for maximizing the advantages and mitigating the challenges associated with pyrolysis plants.

Pyrolysis technology

Pyrolysis of plastic waste

Plastics are inexpensive and durable, leading to high levels of production by humans. However, the chemical structure of most plastics makes them resistant to many natural degradation processes, resulting in slow decomposition. These two factors have contributed to the widespread problem of plastic pollution in the environment, causing millions of animal deaths annually. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to mitigate plastic pollution, such as converting waste plastic into useful resources for other purposes.

Chemical recycling presents an attractive solution to the rapid increase inplastic waste and its associated disposal issues. Since plastic is essentially processed crude oil, we can reverse this process through pyrolysis. Plastic pyrolysis involves exposing plastic to high temperatures in an oxygen-free environment. "Pyro" means heat, and "lysis" means breakdown at any temperature. During pyrolysis, the molecules are subjected to such intense heat and vibration that they break down into smaller molecules. Given the difficulty of breaking down plastic, a zeolite catalyst is added to facilitate the process, ultimately converting waste plastic into approximately 80% oil, 15% gas, and 5% carbon black or ash.

The plastic pyrolysis process involves several steps. Initially, waste plastic undergoes a pretreatment process to remove any foreign matter. Next, it is sent to a shredder where it is cut into smaller pieces, followed by a densifier to compress these pieces for easier storage and handling. The dense, shredded plastic is then heated to 450 degrees Celsius in the presence of a catalyst and absence of oxygen in a pyrolysis chamber, causing it to melt and convert into gas. This gas is then condensed into a liquid, which is sent to an oil refining chamber and refined into 80% oil, 15% gas, and 5% carbon black or ash. The final oil can be used in trucks and tractors, the gas is recycled to heat the reactor, and the carbon black or ash is utilized in construction or as a coal replacement.

While plastic pyrolysis technology has several advantages, it also has some drawbacks. The process is energy-intensive, requiring more energy input than can be recovered from the resulting pyrolysis oil, making it less sustainable. However, the advantages include reducing landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions, lowering the risk of water pollution, and creating new jobs for low-income individuals based on the region's waste generation quantities.