Discussion on:

British Airways partner with Solena to convert trash into jet fuel

The combination of carbon monoxide and hydrogen (Syngas) is like the proverbial magician's hat: You can get anything you want out of it, if you use the right catalyst and reaction conditions. Right now, the most prominent application of carbon monoxide-hydrogen synthesis is methanol, where the CO-H2 comes from reforming of natural gas in giant plants like in Trinidad.

We should look at CO-H2 synthesis for production of synthetic middle distillates (jet and Diesel fuels), and also for synthesizing mixtures of methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol for non-Diesel cars. The raw material input can be the same as what British Airways and Solena are using for their effort. Or alternatively, you can use anything that is amenable to gasification to produce a CO-H2 mixture.

All interesting but would ilke to understand the economics behind the initiative. How much of BA's overall fuel requirements are met through this and how much does it cost? Is it cheaper? What are the economics?

Great news from BA & Solena Group. By 2014, British Airways will be powering part of its fleet with 16 million gallons of jet fuel made from 500,000 tons of waste. From London Landfills to the World?s Skies!

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