Making jet fuel from carbon dioxide

A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in the UK and one in Saudi Arabia have developed a way to produce jet fuel using carbon dioxide as the main ingredient. In their article published in the journal Nature’s communications, the group describes their process and its effectiveness.

As scientists continue to look for ways to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere, they have increasingly focused on certain industries. One of these sectors is the aviation industry, which accounts for around 12% of carbon dioxide emissions from transport. Reducing carbon emissions in the aviation industry has proven difficult due to the difficulty of installing heavy batteries inside airplanes. In this new effort, researchers have developed a chemical process that can be used to produce carbon-neutral jet fuel.

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) with hydrogen, citric acid and carbon dioxide heated to 350 degrees C. The process forced the carbon atoms to separate oxygen atoms in CO₂ molecules, which then bond with hydrogen atoms, producing the type 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 over 20 hours, the process converted 38% of the carbon dioxide in a pressurized chamber into jet fuel and other products. Jet fuel made up 48% of the products manufactured – the rest were water, propylene and ethylene. The researchers also note that using this fuel in airplanes would be carbon neutral because its combustion would release the same amount of carbon dioxide that was used to make it.

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

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