WPI researchers create method for making net-zero aviation fuel
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has developed a potential breakthrough in green aviation, namely a recipe for a net-zero fuel for aeroplanes that will pull carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the air.
The team, led by Jagan Jayachandran, assistant professor of aerospace engineering, and Adam Powell, associate professor of mechanical and materials engineering, developed a formula, through modelling and computation analysis, for a fuel that consists of magnesium, a mineral that is found all over the globe, most abundantly in the world’s oceans.
A slurry of magnesium hydride (magnesium and hydrogen) mixed with hydrocarbon fuel would burn to produce CO₂, water vapor and magnesium oxide (MgO) nanoparticles. The magnesium hydride fuel would also give planes the range for long-haul flights. (cj)