James Muritu is the founder of Progreen Innovations Limited, a company which makes diesel and petrol equivalent fuels from plastic.
When he sold out his idea, many people cast doubts over the viability. Some even told him off saying he was high on marijuana.
But the Murang’a man burnt the midnight oil together with his colleague Michael Nthenge as they immersed themselves into appropriate literature and research.
With this, they were able to learn of the specific kind of plastic that can be used to make fuel.
“We came to realize that you have some specific type of plastic that will give you the right fuel; not every plastic will work,” says Muritu.
Murichu explains that the innovation helps in getting rid of waste plastics that have become an environment menace while at the same time getting value from it.
“Our passion is to clean the environment but not just clean and throw away the plastic but recover value from the waste plastic,” says Muritu.
The project is currently in its pilot phase and is already yielding positive results. Muritu uses the diesel harnessed from the project to power his car. The people who have used the product affirm that its performance is great.
Engineering Background
Muritu says his background has been in the engineering field and he has spent over 20 years building software and hardware in Africa, North America, Australia and Europe.
He only got interested in chemistry 3 years ago. He was attempting to recover aluminium and in the process he got curious after melting plastic which gave him some jelly liquid.
The innovative engineer began by researching the raw material that comes out when one burns plastic. He never stopped from this but instead continued with a deep research into this field.
The process
The first process is collection of plastic and sorting out the ideal ones needed. Afterwards, the raw materials are shredded into smaller pieces and then washed to remove any impurities.
The plastic is then transferred into the reactor compartment and heated in two cycles that are determined by different temperatures. The first cycle produces heavy crude oil and the second one is all about refining the product.
Commercialisation
Muritu says he has had to dig deep into his pocket for the project to actualize. He has patented the idea and reveals he is also done with the NEMA environmental impact assessment.
Should he get adequate funding, he plans to roll out such projects in various towns and cities. This will in turn create employment opportunities and may lower the cost of production for various energy-reliant firms.
