Researchers at the University of Oxford have successfully developed a way to convert CO2 into a viable form of jet fuel. By effectively reversing the combustion process, this new method could open the door to “carbon neutral” jet fuels in the future.
Science
The process of “reversing” the combustion process has been successfully achieved.
This experimental process takes CO2 (considered the most abundant of the greenhouse gases) and turns it into a viable fuel through a chemical reaction based on an iron catalyst. At present, the process has only been carried out under laboratory conditions and should be replicated and improved to make it a viable option for the aviation industry.
“Climate change is accelerating and we have huge carbon dioxide(Co2) emissions,” says Tiancun Xiao, senior researcher at the Oxford Department of Chemistry and author of the paper.
“The hydrocarbon fuel infrastructure is already there. This process could help alleviate climate change and use the current carbon infrastructure for sustainable development.”
This innovative process reverses combustion under special conditions
When we burn hydrocarbons, the result is carbon dioxide, water, and lots of energy. This new process basically reverses it through a process called the organic combustion method(OCM).
A mixture of citric acid, hydrogen, and a catalyst made of iron, manganese, and potassium is heated to 662 degrees Fahrenheit (350 degrees Celsius) and when carbon dioxide is added to the mixture, the product is a liquid fuel that would work in an engine. jet. The entire process was carried out in a stainless steel reactor, but it was only able to produce a few grams of the substance.
For this process to be commercially viable, large quantities could theoretically be made using large amounts of CO2 extracted from the air by sequestration, either in a specially designed factory or directly from the air in the production facility.
The team is confident that once improved, the new method would be cheaper than existing methods that convert hydrogen gas and water into fuel, such as hydrogenation.
Xiao envisions a future in which such production facilities could be located alongside steel or cement factories or coal-burning power plants to capture and convert any carbon dioxide emissions from them.
But to be truly sustainable, the production facility and carbon capture processes would need to be powered by renewable technologies, such as solar or wind.
“You need to use renewable electricity,” says Oskar Meijerink, project leader for future fuels at SkyNRG. “The challenge is if we are using CO2 from a steel mill, how can we make the mill carbon neutral? The perfect solution would be to make all these industries more sustainable and use this for direct air capture. “
The detailed study on this subject can be read at Nature.
