Andrea Rossi and the start of Petrol Dragon

Fuel from Waste - the birth of Petrol Dragon

In 1978 Andrea Rossi, continues his passion for research and innovation, in a social and historical context where the problem of energy sources was particularly topical, he thought about the possibility of turning waste of organic origin in a liquid very similar to oil that is daily extracted from the deepest layers of earth.

It is common knowledge that plant and animal organic waste, over time, are processed into oil due to very high pressure from the force of gravity and to the temperature gradients stemming from a core meltdown perpetually glowing in the center of the Earth. At the same time Andrea Rossi thought about the possibility of artificially creating the necessary environmental conditions for this process, he would speed up chemical and physical transformations that, in nature, to be implemented take whole geological era, he would like to simulate the work of our planet that takes few million years.

Many difficulties and technical obstacles were been faced to turn this insight to a practice, repeatable and convenient procedure, long study and many attempts, led to the development of a technology with which it was able to simulate the phenomenon that occurs in the center of the earth, the waste was subjected to many pressures and differences of temperature in a reducing atmosphere, until the mixture of fuel oil, coal and gas was obtained (the gas was used to supply the same power process).
This innovative technology was patented by the Patent Office Cicogna of Milan in 1978.

For those interested in deepen the events about the difficult beginnings and to have a more complete view of the process, may read the following books:

Oil from waste, Sugarco Editrice, Milan 1980

In the name of oil, GEI-Rizzoli, Milan 1983, reprinted in 1985 by Mondadori

Since the beginning, the revolutionary potentialities of this project was clear and in a few months Petroldragon (the name of the company formed to develop and implement this technology), with a machine still rather makeshift and handmade in the execution, produced two tons of oil from ten tons of organic wastes, this is part of municipal waste consists of paper, wood, plastic, food and the like.

In 1978, with an investment by Andrea Rossi, who has already reached several hundred million of Lire, the technology of oil production from the waste took final shape and the transformer machinery was working in order.