Methane emissions from landfill could be turned into sustainable jet fuel in plasma chemistry leap
Methane wells. Image: Luisa Low, University of Sydney
In a world first, University of Sydney researchers have developed a chemical process using plasma that could create sustainable jet fuel from聽methane聽gas emitted from landfills, potentially creating a low-carbon aviation industry.
Methane聽is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO2). According to the聽, the concentration of聽methane聽in the atmosphere is currently around two-and-a-half times greater than pre-industrial levels and is increasing steadily, with waste emissions and the burning of fossil fuels accounting for a significant proportion.
The research was published in the聽Journal of the American Chemical Society.
How the process could work. Image: Professor PJ Cullen, Dr Tianqi Zhang and Dr Emma Lovell.
Australia recently joined the聽聽with the United States, the European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
Lead author,聽Professor PJ Cullen聽from the University of Sydney鈥檚聽School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering听补苍诲听聽said: 鈥淕lobally, landfills are a major emitter of greenhouse gases, mainly a mixture of CO2听补苍诲听methane. We have developed a process that would take these gases and convert them into fuels, targeting sectors that are difficult to electrify, like aviation.鈥�
Professor PJ Cullen with Veolia Australia and New Zealand CEO and Net Zero Initiative board member Richard Kirkman next to a Veolia methane well. Image: Luisa Low, University of Sydney
鈥淢odern landfill facilities already capture, upgrade and combust their gas emissions for electricity generation, however, our process creates a much more environmentally impactful and commercially valuable product,鈥� he said.
Global landfill emissions are estimated at 10鈥�20 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year, a value聽聽to the emissions of the global energy sector.
Aviation currently accounts for approximately聽聽of the world鈥檚 emissions. Creating a 鈥渃losed loop鈥� fuel based on existing emissions would eliminate the need for traditional and sustainable jet fuels, which add further emissions into the atmosphere.
How plasma makes the process work
The process would work by extracting聽methane聽from a landfill site, known as a聽methane聽well, which uses a shaft-like mechanism to extract gases.
鈥淭he beauty of this is that this simple process captures almost the exact composition that we need for our process,鈥� said Professor Cullen.
Plasma in the lab. Image: PJ Cullen, Plasmaleap Technologies.听
鈥淣on-thermal plasma is an electricity-driven technology which can excite gas at both a low temperature and atmospheric pressure. Essentially, what this means is this approach facilitates the conversion of the gas into value-added products by inducing plasma discharge within forming gas bubbles. The process doesn鈥檛 require heat or pressure, meaning it requires less energy, making it highly compatible with renewable energy power sources.鈥�
Long-Chain Hydrocarbons from Non-Thermal Plasma-Driven Biogas Upcycling聽was published in the .听
DISCLOSURE
Authors PJ Cullen, Emma Lovell and Tianqi Zhang are associated with PlasmaLeap Technologies, the supplier of the plasma technology employed to generate plasma bubbles in this study.
The authors acknowledge the MagRes node at Sydney Analytical Core Research Facility for access to the NMR infrastructure, Michelle Wood at Sydney Analytical for additional assistance in ATR-FTIR and Aditya Rawal at the University of New South Wales Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre for solid-state NMR measurements.
