Two quick facts before we get started. One: The world is very concerned about a reliance on petroleum as the primary source of fuel. Two: The world is equally concerned about the 300 tons of plastic produced each year, but often unrecycled, given that it can sit in landfills for up to 1,000 years, allowing chemicals to leach into the soil day by day. Is there actually a way to address the two concerns with a single solution? Actually, it might be possible.

A team at the University of California, Irvine, led by Chemist Zhibin Guan recently discovered how to break down the bonds of polyethylene, the single most common plastic on earth. Because plastics are inherently petroleum-based, they’ve found it’s possible to actually turn them back into fuel.

What could this discover mean for either industry? Big changes, and Komax is here to support both of them with the right technology. Our ultra mixer technology is designed to support the plastics industry with an understanding that the initial demands put on a static mixing system are thanks to the need to distribute an additive across the section of pipe. The ultra mixer, then, helps to ensure the downstream mixing elements are far more effective, ensuring dispersion throughout. Similarly, our custody transfer mixer, flow conditioner, and other technologies are very supportive to today’s petro-chemical and pipeline industries, ensuring they have exactly what they need.

Whether plastics actually become fuel or we find another good source to help the petroleum industry out in the future remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that Komax will be there to help these and other budding industries do business more efficiently.