polymers Communication Production of Fuel from Plastic Waste: A Feasible Business Irene Fahim 1, * , Omar Mohsen 1 and Dina ElKayaly 2   Citation: Fahim, I.; Mohsen, O.; ElKayaly, D. Production of Fuel from Plastic Waste: A Feasible Business. Polymers 2021, 13, 915. https:// doi.org/10.3390/polym13060915 Academic Editor: Giulia Fredi Received: 11 February 2021 Accepted: 9 March 2021 Published: 16 March 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1 Department of Industrial Engineering, School of Engineering, SESC Research Center, Nile University, Nile Avenue, Giza 12655, Egypt; O.Mohsen@nu.edu.eg 2 School of Business and Finance, New Giza University, Cairo 11435, Egypt; dina68@hotmail.com * Correspondence: isamy@nu.edu.eg Abstract: This paper aims to conduct a feasibility study of producing fuel from plastic waste. It is a suggested approach to deal with the huge production of synthetic plastic around the world, so as to avoid its accumulation in landfills and the depletion of resources. Several types of research have addressed the conversion of plastic waste into energy, and in this study the authors focused on using pyrolysis to convert plastic to liquid oil. Accordingly, the volume of the waste was reduced significantly, and the produced liquid oil had a high calorific value in comparison to fossil fuel. The authors managed to develop a profitable business model for a facility producing fuel from plastic waste in Egypt. This project could be a very lucrative business opportunity for investors or venture capitalists interested in investing in green economy. A Business Model Canvas was used as a tool to identify how the different components of the business relate to each other. Keywords: fuel; energy; plastic waste; recovery; calorific value; feasibility 1. Introduction 1.1. Plastic Waste: A Global Problem Synthetic plastic production has reached 400 million tons worldwide. More than 50% of this figure is thrown in landfills or recycled. More than 15 million tons reach seas and oceans every year. There are several ways that plastic waste ends up in the ocean. Two-thirds of the waste is generated from land-based sources: litter left on the beach or washed down rivers and drains, and litter being dropped in towns and cities. The waste is also produced from industrial spills, badly managed landfill sites, by bins near the coast, or by rubbish being flushed down toilets. Most of these waste items are single-use plastics such as drink bottles, plastic bags, cotton bud sticks, sanitary items, and wet wipes. Incineration is also used to get rid of waste. However, U.S. emissions from plastic incineration reached 5.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2015, and they are expected to reach 49 million metric tons by 2030 and 91 million metric tons by 2050 (The Hidden Climate Polluter: Plastic Incineration—Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, 2021). The burning of waste releases thousands of pollutants that affect people living near these incinerators. Furthermore, landfilling features a much lower climate impact than incineration. However, landfills are currently full, and there is no more space for waste accumulation. Landfilling contaminates soil and water, and also affects wildlife. Previously, the U.S. and other Western countries sent their contaminated waste to China, transferring the responsibility of waste management. In 2018, however, China closed its doors to the West’s contaminated recycling [1]. It has been concluded that waste plastic fuel has similar properties to diesel fuel and can be used instead of diesel [2]. 1.2. Plastic Waste: A Severe Problem in Egypt According to the plastics value chain mapping and assessment, “Egypt generates around 20 million tons of garbage and waste annually, with plastic waste assumed to represent 6% out of the total, distributed over Cairo (60%), Alexandria (16%), the Nile Polymers 2021, 13, 915. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13060915 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/polymers