Plastic to Fuel

Why in News?

Recently, the menace of plastic pollution was reiterated by various climate experts. In this context, different solutions were sought to tackle it.

 

About

Plastic waste, or plastic pollution, is ‘the accumulation of plastic objects (e.g.: plastic bottles and much more) in the Earth’s environment that adversely affects wildlife, wildlife habitat, and humans.’

The world is producing twice as much plastic waste as two decades ago, with the bulk of it ending up in landfill, incinerated or leaking into the environment, and only 9% successfully recycled, according to a new OECD report.

Around 70% of global plastic production is concentrated in six major polymer types – referred to collectively as commodity plastics.

• Polyethylene terephthalate or PET,
• High-density polyethylene or HDPE,
• Polyvinyl chloride or PVC,
• Low-density polyethylene or LDPE,
• Polypropylene or PP,
• Polystyrene or PS,
• Other Plastics.

Each of these has different properties and can be identified by their resin identification code (RIC) denoted by symbols found on plastic products.

• Resin Identification Codes are the number that you see on the bottom of some rigid plastic packaging. They were originally developed in the 1980s to categorise plastic into types, to ensure consistency in plastics manufacturing and recycled plastics reprocessing.
• By paying attention to the Resin Identification Codes and checking what plastics can be recycled locally, we can ensure we are recycling the maximum amount of plastic.

 

Statistics about plastic consumption

• Plastic consumption has quadrupled over the past 30 years, driven by growth in emerging markets. Global plastics production doubled from 2000 to 2019 to reach 460 million tonnes. Plastics account for 3.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• Global plastic waste generation more than doubled from 2000 to 2019 to 353 million tonnes. Nearly two-thirds of plastic waste comes from plastics with lifetimes of under five years, with 40% coming from packaging, 12% from consumer goods and 11% from clothing and textiles.
• Only 9% of plastic waste is recycled (15% is collected for recycling but 40% of that is disposed of as residues). Another 19% is incinerated, 50% ends up in landfill and 22% evades waste management systems and goes into uncontrolled dumpsites, is burned in open pits or ends up in terrestrial or aquatic environments, especially in poorer countries.

Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2022

• Classification of Plastics: The new rules classify plastics into three categories:
  • Category One will include rigid plastic packaging;
  • Category Two will include flexible plastic packaging of single layer or multilayer (more than one layer with different types of plastic), plastic sheets, carry bags, plastic sachet or pouches;
  • Category Three will include Multi-layered plastic packaging (at least one layer of plastic and at least one layer of material other than plastic).
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): It covers reuse, recycling, use of recycled plastic content and end of life disposal by producers, importers and brand-owners. The term simply means the responsibility of a producer for the environmentally sound management of the product until the end of its life.
  • Extended Producer Responsibility Certificates: The guidelines allow for sale and purchase of surplus extended producer responsibility certificates.
  • EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) means the responsibility of a producer for environmentally sound management of the product until the end of its life.
• Centralized Online Portal: It calls for creating a centralized online portal by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). It will be used for the registration as well as filing of annual returns by producers, importers and brand-owners.

 

Micro Plastics

Microplastics are plastic pieces that measure less than five millimetres across.

• Primary microplastics are tiny particles designed for commercial use, such as cosmetics, as well as microfibers shed from clothing and other textiles, such as fishing nets.
• Secondary microplastics are particles that result from the breakdown of larger plastic items, such as water bottles. This breakdown is caused by exposure to environmental factors, mainly the sun’s radiation and ocean waves.

Microplastics have been detected in marine organisms from plankton to whales, in commercial seafood, and even in drinking water.

 

 

Where do microplastics come from?

• Particles arising from the breakdown of larger items of plastic litter in the environment, such as plastic packaging and water bottles.
• Microfibres shed from textiles during use.
• Particles resulting from tyre abrasion.
• Tiny particles that have been manufactured for use in products such as cosmetics (sometimes called microbeads).
• Spillage of tiny particles of plastic that are the feedstock for the production of other plastic items.

 

 

Different ways to convert plastic into fuel

Pyrolysis

• Pyrolysis is the thermal degradation of plastic waste at different temperatures (300–900°C), in the absence of oxygen, to produced liquid oil.

Hydrothermal Processing

• This process places polypropylene in a reactor filled with water, heating it to extremely high temperatures – ranging from 380-500 degrees Celsius. At this high heat and pressure, water breaks down the plastic and converts it into oil.
• Most plastics are originally made from oil, so this process brings them back to their original form.

Pilot Scale Mobile Plant

• The plant converts various types of plastic waste into carbon-densified HC-Oil (Hydrocarbon Oil) through a low-stringent process named ICT-Poly Urja.

ICT-Poly Urja Process

• A special substance called Cu@TiO2 catalyst is added to the plastic waste. This catalyst helps break down the plastic into smaller molecules.
• The mixture of plastic waste and catalyst is heated up under moderate conditions. This means it doesn’t require extremely high temperatures.
• As the plastic waste is heated, it undergoes a chemical transformation called Catalytic Thermo Liquefaction (CTL). This process converts the plastic waste into a substance called Hydrocarbon Oil (HC-Oil).

 

Urban Cooperative Banks

Why in news?

Recently, RBI stressed upon the need for effective functioning of Urban Cooperative Banks.

About

The term Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs), though not formally defined, refers to primary cooperative banks located in urban and semi-urban areas. These banks, till 1996, were allowed to lend money only for non-agricultural purposes. This distinction does not hold today as they were brought under the purview of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 through an Amendment in 1966. Today, their scope of operations has widened considerably.

• As per Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, a primary co-operative bank (Urban Co-operative Bank or UCB) means a co-operative society, other than a primary agricultural credit society, whose,

• Primary or principal business is a transaction of banking business.
• Paid-up share capital and reserves of which are not less than one lakh of rupees

• They are registered under the Cooperative Societies Act of the State concerned or the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002.
• The Co-operative banks are governed by the,
  • Banking Regulations Act, 1949.
  • Banking Laws (Co-operative Societies) Act, 1955.

 

History of Urban Cooperative Bank

• The first known cooperative society in India was probably the ‘Anyonya SahakariMandali’ organised in the erstwhile princely State of Baroda in 1889 under the guidance of Vithal Laxman also known as Bhausaheb Kavthekar.
• The enactment of Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904, however, gave the real impetus to the movement. The first urban cooperative credit society was registered in Canjeevaram (Kanjivaram) in the erstwhile Madras province in October, 1904.
• The Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904 was amended in 1912, with a view to broad basing it to enable organisation of non-credit societies. The committee also felt that the urban cooperative credit movement was more viable than agricultural credit societies.
• The constitutional reforms which led to the passing of the Government of India Act in 1919 transferred the subject of “Cooperation” from Government of India to the Provincial Governments.

 

Supervisory Action Framework

• Under the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, RBI is entitled to assess the financial position of a bank and issue directions/instructions thereunder.
• The Reserve Bank of India had introduced the supervisory action framework, 2014, to better manage stressed urban cooperative banks.
• It is similar to the Prompt corrective active framework, imposed on scheduled commercial banks.
  • Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR),
  • net Non-Performing Assets (NPA)
  • Return on Assets (RoA)
• UCBs will face restrictions for worsening of three parameters:
  • When net Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) exceed 6% of net advances,
  • When losses are incurred for two consecutive financial years or losses have accumulated on the balance sheets, and
  • If Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) falls below 9%