Amidst the scarcity and ingenuity that characterize the island, a Cuban has once again demonstrated that when resources are lacking, creativity abounds, even if it sometimes seems straight out of a movie.
A video circulating on social media shows a man operating what many have already dubbed a "rustic home refinery." With tubes, improvised containers, direct flames, and even a homemade cooling system, the invention promises to convert plastic into fuel.
The process, as heard in the video itself, has no "academic" secrets, but it does involve a lot of creativity: heat on one side, long pipes to cool the steam, cold water for condensation, and a bottle where a yellowish liquid begins to drop, which the author identifies as "gasoline."
“This is the serpentine function; the distance allows it to reach colder temperatures, it doesn’t need a serpentine,” the man explains while demonstrating the system’s path. Later on, laughing and with a hint of mystery, he adds, “It’s also not good to give away the details to people.”
The scene, amidst smoke, fire, and recycled metal structures, has elicited all kinds of reactions among Cubans, both on the island and abroad.
Some see it as yet another example of national ingenuity. “That man is mocked by many today, but soon he will be laughing at everyone,” commented one user. Another was more straightforward: “The guy is a millionaire and doesn’t even know it.”
Others, on the other hand, take it with humor: “Someone needs to explain to him what octane is,” wrote a user. And there was no shortage of those who summed up the general sentiment: “What kind of madness, my friend.”
There were also more critical or concerned voices, particularly regarding the risks. “God bless it, but that's going to explode,” warned one user, recalling recent accidents on the island.
Amidst jokes and debates, there were even those who tried to give a technical name to the invention. One comment explained that it would be “pyrolysis fuel,” a process that converts plastic waste into a type of oil, though it clarified that “it will never be gasoline as we know it.”
But beyond scientific accuracy, the video has once again highlighted a reality that Cubans know well: when everything is lacking, ingenuity soars.
"If we are not the best, we are among the top," wrote another user, summarizing the pride—and irony—with which many view these kinds of stories.
Meanwhile, the protagonist continues to feed his makeshift oven and drip his “gasoline” drop by drop, unaware that he has already become quite a phenomenon on social media.
The gasoline in the black market can cost 18,000 pesos for three liters, while the minimum wage is 2,100 pesos.
This is not the first Cuban attempt to produce fuel from plastics: since May 2023, videos have been circulating of Cubans replicating the pyrolysis process in an artisanal manner, and in March 2026, the Pyralis project in Holguín was reported, which uses a reactor capable of generating up to 100 liters of pyrolytic oil for every 100 kg of plastic waste.
"Forget it, Cubans are inventors. If they had the resources, no one knows what they would be capable of. It's a shame; necessity is the mother of invention," summarized an internet user.
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