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Every year, millions of tonnes of plastic waste end up in landfills, rivers and oceans. Most of it takes hundreds of years to decompose, making plastic pollution one of the world’s biggest environmental challenges.

While many saw it as waste, Professor Satish Kumar, a mechanical engineer from Hyderabad, saw it as a resource waiting to be transformed. His mission began with a simple but powerful question: Can non recyclable plastic become fuel instead of pollution?

After years of experimentation, Satish developed a three step plastic pyrolysis process, a technology that converts non recyclable plastic into petrol, diesel and aviation fuel. The process works by heating plastic in the absence of oxygen, breaking it down into usable liquid fuels without burning it. Since the reaction takes place in a vacuum, it requires no water, produces no wastewater and significantly reduces harmful emissions compared to conventional disposal methods.

Unlike conventional recycling, which is limited to certain plastics, Satish’s technology can process almost all kinds of end of life plastics, except PVC and PET, without extensive segregation. Around 500 kilograms of plastic waste can produce nearly 400 litres of fuel, offering a practical solution for plastic that would otherwise end up in landfills.

To turn his innovation into reality, Satish established an MSME registered company in Hyderabad. Since 2016, his unit has converted more than 50 tonnes of non recyclable plastic into fuel. At one stage, the plant was processing around 200 kilograms of plastic every day, producing nearly 200 litres of fuel daily, which was sold to local industries for ₹40 to ₹50 per litre; almost half the market price at the time. The fuel was intended for industrial use, while testing for use in automobiles was still pending.

What makes Satish’s work significant is not just the fuel he produces but the problem he addresses.

India generates millions of tonnes of plastic waste every year, much of which cannot be recycled through conventional methods. Technologies like plastic pyrolysis offer an alternative by recovering energy from waste that would otherwise remain an environmental burden. While experts caution that such fuel cannot replace conventional petrol on a large scale and must comply with environmental regulations and fuel quality standards, it has emerged as a promising component of the circular economy.

As the world grapples with mounting plastic waste, solutions like Satish Kumar’s offer a glimpse of what is possible when science meets persistence. His work may not solve the plastic crisis on its own, but it challenges a fundamental assumption, that waste is the end of a product’s life.



References
https://www.google.com/amp/s/timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/spotlight/a-professor-made-petrol-from-plastic-and-selling-at-half-the-price/amp_articleshow/69958058.cms