Currently, air travel generates up to 12% of all transportation-related CO2 emissions globally, but that may all change.
In a new study published in the journal “Nature Communications”, a team of researchers affiliated with multiple universities in the UK and Saudi Arabia, have proven that it is possible to turn carbon dioxide into jet fuel. If carbon dioxide gas were used to manufacture jet fuel rather than oil, the aviation industry’s carbon footprint would dramatically decrease.
According to ScienceNews, by using a new, inexpensive iron-based catalyst, (with added potassium and manganese) CO2 could be transformed into hydrocarbons found in jet fuel when combined with hydrogen, citric acid, and carbon dioxide, preheated to 350 degrees Celsius. The Oxygen atoms from the CO2 also join up with Hydrogen atoms and form water molecules. Additionally, according to the study, byproducts of this “organic combustion method” include light olefins, ethylene, propylene, and butenes, and according to ScienceNews, ethylene and propylene can be used to make plastics.
The researchers declare that with this method, planes would be carbon-neutral and this new process uses less electricity and costs significantly less than compared to the conventional fuel production methods. They also add that this process can be installed in any high-carbon dioxide generating plants such as coal plants.
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