Zambia company seeks to produce fuel from used tyres

Lusaka — Central African Renewable Energy Corporation has found an effective use for plastic containers and used tyres that can be found in alleys of its cities and towns. The Zambian firm recycles them and transforms them into fuel on a daily basis, a process that could mean hitting two birds with one stone by lessening its energy imports and cleaning up the streets. According to a Reuters report, Zambia's Central African Renewable Energy Corp. processes 1.5 tonnes of waste to make 600-700 litres of diesel and gasoline on a daily basis. The project is still at its pilot stage and doesn’t have the necessary volume to reduce its $1.4 billion fuel import bill or the high pollution but executives from the company are confident bigger things will come. “At the peak of it, we hope that we will be able to contribute even 20-30% of the current fuel used in the country. We are cleaning up the environment by taking out all this waste and we are converting it into energy,” said Mulenga Mulenga, chief executive of the firm in an interview with the news agency. The company is currently seeking $60 million in investment to raise daily fuel output to 400 tonnes of diesel, 125 tonnes of petrol, and 30 tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). According to Mulenga, this would represent half of the cost of imported fuel. Chains of hydrocarbons that compose plastic and rubber can be turned into a product that it’s similar to crude oil via heating. Companies around the world are undergoing projects to find the best and most cost-effective way to produce fuel through this method. Nevertheless, it’s sustainability can be debated due to the amount of energy needed to convert waste into fuel, a process that still releases CO2 into the air.