TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - CHEMICAL ENGINEERING - Preferred Method: All types of plastic waste can be shredded and/or granulized. There is no need to sort hard from soft plastics. As part of the granulizing process, the plastic waste can be hot air dried. For effective combustion, the granular size should be no greater than peas or smaller. Mixing of a base paraffin, a gelling agent and shredded waste plastic can be achieved using very large commercially available paddle driven mixers. These are the same mixers used in the oil industry to produce butyl rubber for car tires and for stirring additives into lubricating oil. High tonnages of the mix can be made within hours adequate to feed power stations or incinerators at a rate of 10-100 tons/hour or as required. The gelled plastic waste fuel (i.e., the fuel) can be economically pumped using normal large capacity screw pumps. The screw pump will be lubricated by the fuel. The fuel is supplied to toroidally air controlled burners in gel form. The burners do not require atomized fuel droplets or fuel mist to burn. Combustion is fully achieved by controlling the volume and the velocity of the cyclonic air supplied above the burning gel. The gel is also supplied at a controlled rate direct from the screw pumps. The fuel will burn at high temperature. The base paraffin will produce flame temperatures of 1800 degrees C. At this temperature, the suspended granulated plastic will have to pass through the flame, be subjected to the full 1800 degrees C flame temperature and be totally incinerated. After burning, as practiced in normal incinerators, may not be needed. No noxious gases will be produced in the combustion process. The 1800 degrees C flame temperatures will be high causing any chlorine, cyanogens, dioxin or other chemicals emitted by burning plastic to be dissociated. Normal combustion products of water vapor, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide are to be expected. Combustion residues should be non-existent. The carbon based paraffin and the plastic will be gasified. The gelling agent will oxidize/vaporize. Any residues will be the result of ineffective cleaning of the plastic during the granulating process. Although these will be minimal, provision is made in the burners for ashing out during maintenance periods. The fuel is used for initial firing and added to the bottom of the inclined cement kiln or to the second chamber of the custom built for secondary firing.Preferred Property: The calorific value of the gelled base paraffin and the plastic waste is at least 18000 BTU/lb of the base paraffin. It can burn with the same heat release, or greater as would paraffin, diesel oil, or kerosene. Because coal is only 10000 BTU/lb calorific value compared to the fuel at 18000 BTU/lb, then only 55% of the fuel is required to meet the designed power output.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - MECHANICAL ENGINEERING - Preferred Component: Coal fired power station furnaces, especially those nearing the end of their economic lives at the present time, would be ideal conversion vehicles for burning gelled plastic waste fuel. They are designed to absorb radiant heat. The refractory line furnace ash-pit could be converted into one large toroidal burner at minimal cost. Boiler, superheater and economizer tubes would not need modifying.