What does net zero emissions mean for the chemical industry?

The UK has enacted a net-zero greenhouse gas emission target by 2050. In the context of the industry sector, due to infrastructures such as chemical plants averaging life times of 20 years or more, a concrete plan must be in place in the next 10 years. This PhD is examining the implications of the net zero target for the competitiveness of synthetic jet fuel and synthetic high-value chemicals.

Aeroplanes will continue to rely on high density liquid fuels due to the intrinsic nature of infrastructures (they cannot carry existing batteries or hydrogen due to their low energy density). The project is co-funded by Johnson Matthey, who have developed a municipal waste-to-liquids (WTL) process that produce bio-jet fuel via the Fischer-Tropsch process. To gain expertise in low-carbon manufacturing from the perspective of chemical and process engineering, the potential of the WTL plant to decarbonise the aviation industry will be evaluated.

The economic viability (private values) and social benefits (in context of the whole economy) of low carbon chemical plants will be studied, employing two broad approaches to modelling. In order to identify and quantify realistic cost reduction potentials as a function of the regulatory environment, the economic viability assessment will include taxes and subsidies (e.g. waste disposal fees, where waste is a feedstock). The social benefits will be examined using the UK TIMES energy system model. UK TIMES is a linear optimization and technology-oriented model that can represent the entirety of the UK's energy systems.