Chinese researchers have developed a new chemical method that could convert waste plastic into jet fuel at a relatively low cost.
The study was conducted by a joint team from the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Fudan University. It focuses on the hydrogenolysis of polyolefins, a process that breaks down long plastic molecules into useful hydrocarbon products.
More than 460 million tonnes of plastic are produced worldwide each year, and plastic’s resistance to degradation has made it a growing environmental problem.
Traditional disposal methods, such as incineration and landfill, are wasteful and polluting. Polyolefins, mainly polythene and polypropylene, account for more than 60 percent of plastic waste, making them an important target for recycling and upcycling technologies.
These plastics contain long hydrocarbon chains. If those chains can be broken down in a controlled way, they can be turned into C8-C16 hydrocarbons, which are key components of aviation fuel.
The main challenge is that polyolefins are chemically stable and difficult to break down.
In hydrogenolysis, metal catalysts provide active sites that help cut and rearrange carbon-carbon bonds. However, earlier approaches often broke terminal bonds at the ends of the chains more easily than internal bonds. That produced gases such as methane instead of the liquid fuels researchers wanted.
To solve this, the team developed a new catalyst containing both nickel and cobalt.
The cobalt helps adjust the electronic state of nickel, improving its ability to activate hydrogen and break long carbon chains. At the same time, it helps prevent excessive fragmentation, allowing the reaction to produce more medium-sized C8-C16 hydrocarbons.
The process achieved a liquid yield of 82.3 percent and 79 percent selectivity toward C8-C16 alkanes under mild conditions.
According to the study details, the catalyst achieved this performance at 280°C and 3 MPa hydrogen pressure.
This is important because earlier systems often relied on expensive noble metals, making industrial use more difficult. Nickel and cobalt are more abundant and cost-effective, which could make the process more practical for future large-scale deployment.
The researchers also found that the process could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent compared with conventional production routes when powered by renewable energy.
However, the technology is still at the laboratory stage. Researchers still need to scale it up for industrial reactors and prove that it can work reliably with real mixed plastic waste.
Feedstock pre-treatment will also be important. Impurities in waste plastic can poison catalysts and cause them to deactivate quickly, which remains a major barrier for commercial use.
The study shows a possible path for turning difficult plastic waste into higher-value aviation fuel components.
If the process can be scaled successfully, it could reduce plastic pollution while also supporting cleaner fuel production. For now, however, it remains a promising laboratory result rather than a ready industrial solution.
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