The first-ever chemical process using plasma has been created by University of Sydney researchers. This process has the potential to produce sustainable jet fuel from methane gas emitted from landfills, which could lead to the development of a low-carbon aviation industry. Methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO2), and the International Energy Agency states that the concentration of methane in the atmosphere is steadily increasing.The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased by two and a half times since the pre-industrial era, and this level continues to rise. This is mainly due to emissions from waste and the burning of fossil fuels. The findings were reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Australia recently became a part of an international agreement to reduce methane emissions, joining the United States, the European Union, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
Professor PJ Cullen, the lead author of the study from the University of Sydney’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Net Zero Initiative, stated: “Landfills worldwide are significant sources of greenhouse gas emissions.”The article discusses the issue of greenhouse gas emissions, specifically CO2 and methane. The process being developed aims to convert these gases into fuels for sectors that are difficult to electrify, such as aviation. The article also mentions that modern landfill facilities already capture and use their gas emissions for electricity, but the new process aims to create a more environmentally impactful and commercially valuable product. Global landfill emissions are estimated to be 10-20 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year, which is comparable to the emissions of the global energy sector.
Currently, aviation contributes around three percent to the world’s emissions. Developing a fuel “closed loop” based on existing emissions could eliminate the need for traditional and sustainable jet fuels, which contribute further emissions to the atmosphere.
How plasma facilitates the process
The process involves extracting methane from a landfill, also known as a methane well, using a shaft-like mechanism to extract gases.
“The beauty of this is that this simple process captures almost the exact composition that we need for our process,” Professor Cullen explained.
“Non-thermalPlasma technology uses electricity to excite gas at low temperatures and atmospheric pressure. This allows for the conversion of gas into valuable products by creating plasma discharge within gas bubbles, without the need for heat or pressure. This makes it more energy efficient and compatible with renewable energy sources.
DISCLOSURE
Authors PJ Cullen, Emma Lovell, and Tianqi Zhang are affiliated with PlasmaLeap Technologies, the provider of the plasma technology used in this study to create plasma bubbles.The MagRes node at Sydney Analytical Core Research Facility was acknowledged by the authors for providing access to the NMR infrastructure. Michelle Wood at Sydney Analytical provided additional assistance in ATR-FTIR, and Aditya Rawal at the University of New South Wales Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre conducted solid-state NMR measurements.
Journal Reference:
- Josip Knezevic, Tianqi Zhang, Renwu Zhou, Jungmi Hong, Rusen Zhou, Christopher Barnett, Qiang Song, Yuting Gao, Wanping Xu, Dingxin Liu, Nicholas Proschogo, Biswaranjan Mohanty, Jyah Strachan, Behdad Soltani, Fengwang Li, Thomas Maschmeyer, Emma C. Lovell, Patrick J. Cullen. Long-Chain Hydrocarbons from Nonthermal Plasma-Driven Biogas Upcycling. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2024; DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c01641