Chinese Researchers Unveil Low-Cost Plastic-to-Jet-Fuel Process

A joint research team from the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Fudan University announced a chemical method that converts discarded polyolefin plastics into aviation fuel at a low cost. The process employs hydrogenolysis—a reaction that cleaves carbon-carbon bonds in the presence of hydrogen—using metal catalysts to selectively produce hydrocarbons in the C8-C16 range required for jet fuel. Operating under relatively mild conditions, the technique allows tunable product selectivity, enabling researchers to steer the conversion toward desired fuel fractions rather than generating unusable fragments.

South China Morning Post

Global plastic production exceeds 460 million tonnes annually, and the material’s resistance to degradation has heightened environmental concerns. Traditional disposal routes, such as incineration and landfilling, are described as wasteful and highly polluting. Polyolefins—primarily polythene and polypropylene—constitute over 60 per cent of plastic waste, yet their inert nature makes them difficult to break down. Converting these abundant polymers into aviation fuel addresses both waste-management challenges and the demand for hydrocarbon-based jet fuel.

South China Morning Post

The researchers’ approach centers on hydrogenolysis of polyolefins. Metal catalysts provide active sites that selectively cleave and rearrange carbon-carbon bonds, producing a spectrum of hydrocarbons that can be tuned to the C8-C16 range optimal for aviation fuel. The process avoids the indiscriminate shredding of plastic into unusable fragments, instead “cutting” the polymer chains into manageable pieces. Although the method shows promise, the source notes a “fundamental challenge” that has historically hindered this conversion route, though specific details are not provided.

South China Morning Post

If scalable, the low-cost conversion could reduce reliance on conventional fossil-derived jet fuel and mitigate the environmental burden of plastic waste. By targeting polyolefins, which dominate the plastic waste stream, the technology offers a pathway to transform a major pollutant into a valuable energy resource while operating under milder conditions than many existing chemical recycling methods.

South China Morning Post