One of the biggest problems we have as a planet (and as humanity) is plastics, and the truth is we have flooded everything with plastic, and you know they take hundreds of years to decompose.
In just 20 years global production has doubled and in our country not even 8.75% of plastics are recycled, some studies even say we don’t reach 6%… At the same time, the demand for renewable energy keeps growing, we want a clean world but we don’t do anything to save it… So, in the middle of this debate, an incredible proposal has come to light that unites clean energy and recycling, a device capable of transforming plastic waste into electricity!
The invention is called CarisMatic and it is the work of Dan Caris, a retired engineer who spent more than ten years perfecting the idea until obtaining patents in 2022. His goal is to reduce plastic pollution and, at the same time, offer affordable energy for thousands of homes!
A “shoe box” that generates energy
The prototype is the size of a shoe box, even smaller than an air conditioning unit, it doesn’t need fuels to work, you just put in used plastics, bottles, bags… whatever.
Caris explains that this system combines electrochemical, thermal and mechanical processes. The plastic is shredded and heated in a special chamber, generating a vapor that moves a bladeless turbine inspired by a Nikola Tesla design from 1913!!
At the same time, the overheated material is reduced at a molecular level and passes through a converter with carbon capture technology, which means there are not many emissions.
Where does the idea come from?
Believe it or not, many people worry about plastic waste, Caris is one of them, he tried to recycle some printer cartridges and discovered they would end up in a landfill with the rest of the waste… That made him reflect on the enormous amount of plastics that are thrown away without a useful destination!
With more than 40 years of engineering experience, he decided it was time to apply his knowledge to do something for the planet, and that’s how this idea came out!
With potential but still in development
For now, Caris’s company has not revealed how much electricity this system can produce exactly or with how much plastic, but the idea has generated a lot of interest, it combines recycling, clean energy and ingenuity!
At first, the internal chambers were made with ceramic, but now they are working with anodized aluminum so that it lasts longer and has greater performance.
The goal is quite ambitious, they want to adapt this project to as many homes and businesses as possible, can you imagine being able to charge your electric car with used plastics?!
Other attempts
CarisMatic is not the only path, there are already projects of ships that collect plastics in the sea and transform them into fuel on board (have you seen the plastic islands in the Pacific Ocean?).
Another thing that is also being researched is hydrothermal liquefaction, which basically is a process in which plastic is decomposed at more than 500 ºC and biofuels are produced. Of course, it is more complex and expensive, but at least we are aware that we must reduce plastics, whatever it takes!!
One’s trash, energy for others
Maybe, the key to having a clean future is that there are people like Caris who with their ingenuity can reduce plastics and do good for others. Converting plastics into electricity is not only an alternative to solar panels, it also opens the door to a new way of understanding recycling and sustainable energy! Who knows if soon we will be watching TV burning soda plastics?