Fuel from plastic for UAE vehicles?

abu dhabi — A new partnership in Abu Dhabi will see Masdar (Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company) and Envyron Energy explore the possibility of upscaling plastic-derived fuel into a transportation grade one.

They two will also look at further R&D for improving the existing plastic-to-fuel technology, it was announced at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

After an agreement between the two in December 2017, a plasticto-fuel demonstration facility is being established at the Masdar City here. It aims to convert the city’s plastic waste into useable fuel and raise awareness on sustainable waste management.

Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan Al Nahyan, prominent sustainability advocate and owner of Alliances for Global Sustainability’s subsidiary, said: “Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan once said that we must leave the land as we found it, or improve it. This collaboration between Envyron and Masdar in the Year of Zayed pays tribute to his legacy. It will also reduce waste in our landfills and locally transform waste plastic into energy.”

According to Euromonitor International, less than half of used plastic drinking bottles are collected for recycling globally, and only seven per cent are turned into new bottles. The UAE aims to divert 75 per cent of its solid waste from landfill by 2021.