[bearnard1212 (OP)]

Have you heard about the new special type of rocket fuel that is made from plastic waste? One company uses particular kinds of plastic to remake them in rocket fuel

[charles1948]

Have you heard about the new special type of rocket fuel that is made from plastic waste? One company uses particular kinds of plastic to remake them in rocket fuel

Plastic is derived from oil, which contains a lot of potential chemical energy. This energy is used directly to fuel vehicles such as automobiles, ships and aircraft.

And plastic is derived from oil.  So it could be used as fuel - especially  in rockets, which are much simpler than cars.

Cars need complicated internal-combustion engines. With pistons, cylinders, crankshafts, gears and other mechanical moving parts.

Whereas rockets only need fuel to burn.  So couldn't a fuel made of oil-derived plastic, supply that need?

[CliffordK]

I think I remember seeing someone that was using a Tar/Oxygen rocket fuel. 

Plastic/Oil would be very similar.

One thing to be aware of is the use of halides in plastic, and perhaps risks of those halides.

[alancalverd]

Space is very big and mostly devoid of things that can be poisoned by halides, so getting rid of plastic waste by burning it between here and Mars is a very good idea.

[CliffordK]

Space is very big and mostly devoid of things that can be poisoned by halides, so getting rid of plastic waste by burning it between here and Mars is a very good idea.

Sure, once you get it into space, it really won't matter.  But, we still have to make the hop from Earth to Space (which is one of the reason why nuclear pulse propulsion was abandoned).

Even so, it may be that burning very hot with pure oxygen, the toxic byproducts will be minimized.

[bearnard1212 (OP)]

Have you heard about the new special type of rocket fuel that is made from plastic waste? One company uses particular kinds of plastic to remake them in rocket fuel

Plastic is derived from oil, which contains a lot of potential chemical energy. This energy is used directly to fuel vehicles such as automobiles, ships and aircraft.

And plastic is derived from oil.  So it could be used as fuel - especially  in rockets, which are much simpler than cars.

Cars need complicated internal-combustion engines. With pistons, cylinders, crankshafts, gears and other mechanical moving parts.

Whereas rockets only need fuel to burn.  So couldn't a fuel made of oil-derived plastic, supply that need?

I`ve read an article about green rocket fuel that was made by some private space company. This special type of rocket fuel because it is made from plastic waste. This company converts the following types of plastic waste: Polypropylene (PP).
Polyester (PE).
Polystyrene (PS) and their mixtures and analogs

[Bored chemist]

Space is very big and mostly devoid of things that can be poisoned by halides, so getting rid of plastic waste by burning it between here and Mars is a very good idea.

No matter how big space might be, the engines are always near the burning fuel.
For a broad definition of "poisoned", one thing that you really don't want to do that to is the engine.
And hot chlorides are corrosive as hell.

Also, the chlorine atoms are "dead weight", so they are worth avoiding.

Whereas rockets only need fuel to burn.

True.
But if you are wanting an efficient rocket, you need to be careful about the choice of fuel.
For example, you want a high density so that it takes up less space.

Top end rocket fuels are really complicated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RP-1

It's not that it provides a great margin over using kerosene.
It's that the margin is important because rockets nearly don't work.
The energy you can possibly get from a rocket, and the energy needed to lift it against the Earth's or the Sun's gravity are not that different.

[Bored chemist]

Cars need complicated internal-combustion engines. With pistons, cylinders, crankshafts, gears and other mechanical moving parts.

Do you have any idea how complicated the pumps are on a rocket?

[alancalverd]

Also, the chlorine atoms are "dead weight", so they are worth avoiding.

unless you fish them out of the plastic and use them as oxidant!

[Petrochemicals]

Have you heard about the new special type of rocket fuel that is made from plastic waste? One company uses particular kinds of plastic to remake them in rocket fuel

Have you heard of landfill mining?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landfill_mining

They realise that let alone the metals their is enough plastics to burn as fuel to make them worth while.

[chiralSPO]

No matter how big space might be, the engines are always near the burning fuel.
For a broad definition of "poisoned", one thing that you really don't want to do that to is the engine.
And hot chlorides are corrosive as hell.

Also, the chlorine atoms are "dead weight", so they are worth avoiding.

you beat me to both points! so, "amen!"

unless you fish them out of the plastic and use them as oxidant!

pvc is not itself a particularly good oxidizer (from an energy density standpoint), and if you intend to convert it into highly reactive Cl₂ then you'll need another energy source to do that, and if you have another energy source, why bring the chlorine atoms up from the ground?

On the other hand, teflon is a pretty good oxidizer (still not great in terms of energy density, but getting there provided it's mixed with a highly active metal like Mg or Al)

I believe Thiokol (the company) used a mix of poly(butadiene) and thiokol (the polymer) in many of their solid propellant compositions. Polyethylene and polypropylene are not too different chemically (certainly not in terms of energy density) from any other aliphatic hydrocarbon polymers. As I understand it, the trick is getting the correct mixing with solid oxidizer, or, in hybrid rockets, getting the right mesoscopic morphology and maintaining it during burn.

[bearnard1212 (OP)]

I`d like to add some information about another propulsion. It`s the combination of solid Hydroxyl Terminated Polybutadiene (HTPB) fuel and 90% Hydrogen Peroxide (H202) liquid oxidizer.

[bearnard1212 (OP)]

Have you heard about the new special type of rocket fuel that is made from plastic waste? One company uses particular kinds of plastic to remake them in rocket fuel

Have you heard of landfill mining?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landfill_mining

They realise that let alone the metals their is enough plastics to burn as fuel to make them worth while.

How do you relate to the point that the burning of plastic doesn't harm the environment? As far as I know and it doesn`t have any effect on air pollution. According to the article I`ve mentioned in this thread, it claims this rocket fuel is ecofriendly

[Zer0]

Have you heard about the new special type of rocket fuel that is made from plastic waste? One company uses particular kinds of plastic to remake them in rocket fuel

Plastic is derived from oil, which contains a lot of potential chemical energy. This energy is used directly to fuel vehicles such as automobiles, ships and aircraft.

And plastic is derived from oil.  So it could be used as fuel - especially  in rockets, which are much simpler than cars.

Cars need complicated internal-combustion engines. With pistons, cylinders, crankshafts, gears and other mechanical moving parts.

Whereas rockets only need fuel to burn.  So couldn't a fuel made of oil-derived plastic, supply that need?

I`ve read an article about green rocket fuel that was made by some private space company. This special type of rocket fuel because it is made from plastic waste. This company converts the following types of plastic waste: Polypropylene (PP).
Polyester (PE).
Polystyrene (PS) and their mixtures and analogs

This Just keeps getting better & better...WooW!
😲



P.S. - Perhaps the time is ripe Now, to dump all stocks of (SPAM) & just invest everything into Spam
🤔
(Wonder how can i go bout doin that Now)
Hidden Links & Shadow URLs RocK!
👻

[Colin2B]

I`ve read an article about green rocket fuel that was made by some private space company.

Why do you say ‘some’ private company, as if you didn’t know who they are. They are the same company you have been trying, unsuccessfully to advertise throughout all your topics.
Do it again and you are banned

[iBird]

Also, there are many types of plastic such as PP, nylon, ABS, PVC etc. so it will largely depend on the type of plastic you use for the fuel.

[bearnard1212 (OP)]

Also, there are many types of plastic such as PP, nylon, ABS, PVC etc. so it will largely depend on the type of plastic you use for the fuel.

Yeah, I`ve mentioned here in this thread that only the following types of plastic waste can be remade into rocket fuel Polypropylene (PP).Polyester (PE). Polystyrene (PS) and its mixtures and analogs

[Bored chemist]

As a chemist, I can play "shuffle the atoms" pretty much however you like.
So the question isn't "can we do this?" - obviously, we can-  but "should we do this?".

Are there better ways to get rocket fuel?- Probably; notably hydrogen.
Are there better things to do with plastic? Probably- notably recycling it.

[wolfekeeper]

All plastics made from fossil fuels do harm the environment when burnt in rocket engines or otherwise of course, because they produce CO2, which is a greenhouse gas.