Chinese researchers convert plastic waste into jet fuel cheaply
Synopsis
Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Fudan University have cracked a long-standing catalytic selectivity barrier, using nickel-based metal catalysts to convert polyolefin plastic waste — over 60% of all plastic trash — directly into jet-fuel-grade hydrocarbons at reportedly low cost.
Key Takeaways
Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Fudan University jointly developed the plastic-to-jet-fuel process, announced July 2026 .
Global plastic production exceeds 460 million tonnes annually ; polyolefins ( polythene and polypropylene ) make up over 60% of plastic waste.
The hydrogenolysis reaction uses nickel -based metal catalysts to selectively cleave carbon-carbon bonds, targeting the C8–C16 hydrocarbon range required for aviation fuel.
The process operates under relatively mild conditions with tunable product selectivity, addressing a fundamental challenge that has historically limited this chemical route.
The technology could give China a cost advantage in the fast-growing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) market by using abundant low-cost plastic waste as feedstock.
A joint research team from the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Fudan University has developed a low-cost chemical process to convert discarded plastics into aviation fuel, offering a potential breakthrough in both waste management and sustainable aviation. The study, published in July 2026, centres on the hydrogenolysis of polyolefins — the dominant category of plastic waste — under relatively mild reaction conditions.
Why it matters
Global plastic production now exceeds 460 million tonnes annually, and conventional disposal methods — incineration and landfilling — contribute significantly to pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Polyolefins, primarily polythene and polypropylene, account for over 60 per cent of all plastic waste, yet their chemical inertness makes them exceptionally difficult to break down. Finding a viable, scalable conversion pathway for this fraction of waste has long been a priority for materials scientists and energy researchers alike.
The science behind the process
The technique relies on metal catalysts, including nickel-based compounds, which provide active sites for selectively cleaving and rearranging carbon-carbon bonds within the polymer chains. The researchers describe the process as analogous to precisely cutting a fishing net into manageable pieces — avoiding fragmentation into unusable shreds while ensuring the resulting segments are not too long to serve a practical purpose. The reaction's tunable product selectivity allows the team to steer conversion towards the C8–C16 hydrocarbon range that aviation fuel specifications demand.
Competitive backdrop
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has emerged as a critical battleground for governments and energy companies seeking to decarbonise air travel, a sector responsible for roughly 2–3 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Most existing SAF pathways rely on biomass feedstocks, which face land-use and supply constraints. A plastic-waste-to-jet-fuel route would tap an abundant, low-cost feedstock that currently burdens municipal waste systems, potentially giving China — the world's largest plastic producer — a structural cost advantage in the emerging SAF supply chain.
What's next
The research team's immediate challenge, according to the study, has been overcoming a fundamental catalytic selectivity problem that has historically plagued hydrogenolysis routes. The team's reported success in achieving tunable selectivity under mild conditions suggests the process could be closer to pilot-scale demonstration than previous attempts. Industry analysts and aviation stakeholders will be watching for scale-up data and lifecycle greenhouse gas assessments that would determine whether the technology qualifies under international SAF certification frameworks.
Point of View
A viable polyolefin-to-jet-fuel pathway would let China leverage its position as the world's largest plastic producer into a feedstock cost advantage — a structural edge that biomass-reliant competitors cannot easily replicate. What mainstream coverage underplays is the catalytic selectivity breakthrough: achieving tunable C8–C16 output under mild conditions is precisely the bottleneck that has stalled industrial hydrogenolysis for years. If pilot-scale data confirms the lab results, this could reshape both the global SAF supply chain and the economics of plastic recycling simultaneously.
NationPress
21 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What has China discovered about converting plastic waste to jet fuel?
Researchers at the Shanghai Advanced Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Fudan University have developed a hydrogenolysis process that converts polyolefin plastic waste into aviation-grade hydrocarbons at reportedly low cost. The technique uses nickel -based metal catalysts to selectively break and rearrange carbon-carbon bonds, producing the C8–C16 hydrocarbon range that jet fuel requires.
Why is converting polyolefins to aviation fuel significant?
Polyolefins — primarily polythene and polypropylene — account for over 60 per cent of global plastic waste and are notoriously resistant to chemical breakdown. Converting them into aviation fuel addresses both a major waste problem and the aviation industry's urgent need for sustainable fuel alternatives to fossil-derived kerosene.
How does the hydrogenolysis process work?
The process uses metal catalysts, including nickel -based compounds, to cleave and rearrange carbon-carbon bonds in polyolefin chains under relatively mild conditions. Tunable product selectivity allows researchers to steer the reaction output toward the specific hydrocarbon chain lengths — C8 to C16 — that meet aviation fuel specifications, avoiding both over-fragmentation and excessively long chains.
Who is most affected by this plastic-to-jet-fuel technology?
The technology is most immediately relevant to China , the world's largest plastic producer, which could use abundant low-cost plastic waste as a SAF feedstock. Airlines, aviation fuel suppliers, and sustainable fuel certification bodies globally are also affected, as a scalable low-cost process could disrupt the current biomass-dominated SAF market.
What are the next steps for this research?
The research team's immediate challenge is demonstrating the process at pilot scale beyond the laboratory. Independent lifecycle greenhouse gas assessments will also be needed to determine whether the fuel qualifies under international sustainable aviation fuel certification standards before any commercial deployment can occur.
