Globally, the problems with plastic waste disposal have evolved into an environmental and economic crisis. Resynergi, Inc., a company located in Rohnert Park, CA, is working to solve these problems by designing a system that converts waste plastics into fuel. In early 2018, they were in the late stages of development of a pilot system for microwave-powered thermal decomposition, pyrolysis, of post-use, non-recyclable plastics.

The goals of this study were to: (i) provide an overview of findings from previous pyrolysis experiments, (ii) perform a series of production runs with lab-scale pyrolysis equipment, including the Resynergi pilot system, to determine the physical characteristics of the output fuels most relevant to current fuel standards, and (iii) compare the CO₂ emissions released when burning the resulting fuels to those of commercially available diesel and gasoline.

Analyses of the liquid yield resulting from PE plastic processed through Resynergi's pilot system revealed negligible ash content, and the calculated CO₂ emissions from combustion of the diesel were in line with emissions from commercially available fuel. However, the overall fuel density was slightly lower than conventional European diesel standards, all of which were similar to other findings. With a conventional to pyrolysis blend ratio of roughly 70:30, the diesel produced from plastic waste can be brought to European standard specifications through blending.