Making jet fuel from carbon dioxide

A team of researchers from several institutions in the UK and one in Saudi Arabia has developed a way to produce jet fuel using carbon dioxide as the main ingredient. In their paper published in the journal Nature Communicationsthe group describes their process and its efficiency.

As scientists continue to look for ways to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere, they have increasingly focused on certain business sectors. One such sector is the aviation industry, which is responsible for about 12% of transport-related carbon dioxide emissions. Reducing carbon emissions in the aviation industry has proved challenging due to the difficulty of installing heavy batteries in aircraft. In this new effort, the researchers have developed a chemical process that can be used to produce carbon-neutral jet fuel.

The researchers used a process called the organic combustion method to convert carbon dioxide in the air into jet fuel and other products. It involved the use of an iron catalyst (with added potassium and manganese) along with hydrogen, citric acid and carbon dioxide heated to 350 ° C. The process forced the carbon atoms apart from the oxygen atoms in CO₂ molecules, which then bonded to hydrogen atoms, creating the kind of hydrocarbon molecules that make up liquid jet fuel. The process also resulted in the creation of water molecules and other products.

Tests showed that the process converts 38% of the carbon dioxide in a pressurized chamber into jet fuel and other products over 20 hours. Jet fuel made up 48% of the products produced – the others being water, propylene and ethylene. The researchers also note that using this fuel in airplanes would be CO2 neutral, because combustion releases the same amount of carbon dioxide as production.

The researchers also claim that their process is less expensive than other methods used to produce aircraft fuel, such as those that convert hydrogen and water into fuel, mainly because it uses less electricity. They also point out that conversion systems can be installed in power plants that currently emit a lot of carbon dioxide, such as coal-fired power plants.

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