An Appropriate Technology Approach for Utilizing Plastic Waste Derived Cooking Fuel to Reduce Indoor Air Pollution from Solid Fuel Cooking

Combating the environmental crisis caused by mismanaged plastic waste is a global challenge, especially in developing countries due to a lack of recycling availability and waste management infrastructure. One way communities can combat this challenge is by using the process of slow pyrolysis to convert plastic waste (high density polyethylene #2, low density polyethylene #4, polypropylene #5) into liquid cooking polyfuel. Using this fuel in cookstoves can help combat the public health issue caused by breathing in smoke from cooking fires. Open fire cooking remains a common means of cooking in the developing world, and long-term exposure to smoke can lead to chronic lung and eye health problems. The burden of these health problems falls disproportionately on women. Our hypothesis is that switching from wood fire cooking to using stoves fueled by liquid fuel produced from waste plastic will reduce indoor air pollution, including particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide. To test this hypothesis, a series of experiments were conducted. PM2.5 was measured using a Temtop M2000C Air Quality Monitor, sulfur dioxide was measured using a Tango TX1 Monitor, and carbon monoxide was measured using a multigas detector. Cookstoves similar to those used in households in developing countries were used when conducting experiments. The results of these experiments indicated that polyfuel produces less particulate than fire wood, with an average PM2.5 of 7.7 μg/m3 compared with fire wood which had a PM2.5 of 325.6μg/m3. Polyfuel also produces no sulfur dioxide emissions. Kerosene, a traditional cooking fuel in much of the world, produced sulfur dioxide emissions of 5.2 ppm under the experimental conditions. If implemented globally, the results of this research suggest that converting plastic waste into cooking fuel can not only reduce the amount of plastic waste entering the ecosystem but can also combat the global public health crisis caused by open fire cooking.