Plastic pollution in the ocean has become a serious threat
to the
health of marine life and even terrestrial life. It is also a challenge
to transport it landside for recycling. A system to recycle the plastics
in situ on an island was proposed with the aim to convert the plastics
to fuel gases, such as H2, CH4, and CO. As one
of the most abundant thermoset plastics in the ocean, epoxy plastics
were recycled in this system. They were gasified in supercritical
water driven by concentrated solar energy. A heat exchanger and turbine
were used for electricity. The fuel gas could be stored in the gas
tank at 4 MPa. The energy and exergy efficiency in this system were
analyzed, and the effects of temperature, pressure, and feedstock
concentration were discussed. The typical conditions were as follows:
temperature 600 °C; pressure 25 MPa, and feedstock concentration
5 wt %. The mole fractions of these products were 48.13%, 22.97%,
0.84%, and 28.06%, respectively. Additionally, the energy and exergy
efficiency were 51.75% and 45.22%, respectively.