Converting plastic to lubricating oil.

• Position: Recycling

Recycled plastic bottles could be used to lubricate car engines one day, relate researchers at Chevron Energy Technology Company, Richmond, Calif., and the University of Kentucky, Lexington, who converted waste plastic into lubricating oil in laboratory experiments. These polyethylene-derived oils could help improve fuel economy and reduce the frequency of oil changes.

"This technology potentially could have a significant environmental impact. It could make a difference in communities that want to do something positive about their waste plastic problem, especially if there is a refinery nearby that could do all of the processing steps," says Stephen J. Miller, senior consulting scientist and Chevron Fellow.

Americans use about 25,000,000 tons of plastic each year. However, only about 1,000,000 tons of it are recycled, reports the Environmental Protection Agency. The remainder ends up in landfills. Some researchers have tried to use recyclable plastic to produce fuels, but commercial interest in this application has been limited. Most of this plastic is polyethylene, which the researchers demonstrated can be broken down by heat into a wax that can be converted into a high-quality...