Waste to fuel, in hours instead of millions of years.
A research programme that joins thermochemistry and biology: the X-150's oxygen-steam gas, turned into ethanol by bacteria, as the first step towards aviation fuel.
Four steps from waste to fuel
Oxygen-steam gasification
Prepared waste pellets are gasified with oxygen and steam instead of air, giving a concentrated gas rich in carbon monoxide and hydrogen, with no nitrogen dilution.
Gas cleaning
The gas is cooled and cleaned of dust, tar, acids and trace gases that bacteria cannot tolerate.
Gas fermentation
Anaerobic bacteria (Clostridium autoethanogenum) eat carbon monoxide and make ethanol.
Towards jet fuel
Ethanol can be upgraded to sustainable aviation fuel by established alcohol-to-jet routes.
Mixed waste to fuel has failed before: ash and clinker stopped reactors, trace gases poisoned the bacteria, carbon monoxide barely dissolves in water, and plants were built too big, too early. OXYFUEL starts with the reactor that handles high-ash waste, and scales only when each test is passed.
Each step has to be passed
Research stage, 2027–2028. We are building it to find out.