Beijing, March 22 (IANS): Chinese scientists have developed a method that could convert plant scraps from agriculture and timber harvesting into high quality jet fuel, an advance which may help reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from airplanes and rockets.

The study, published in the journal Joule, showed that a cheap, renewable and abundant polymer in the plant's cell walls can produce high-density aviation fuel, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Our biofuel is important for mitigating CO2 emissions because it is derived from biomass and it has higher density compared with conventional aviation fuels," said co-author Li Ning, a research scientist at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The utilisation of high-density aviation fuel can significantly increase the range and payload of aircraft without changing the volume of oil in the tank.

For the study, the team used wheatgrass cellulose in the lab to produce a mixture of C12 and C18 chemicals with a low freezing point and a density about 10 per cent higher than that of conventional jet fuels.

It can be used as either a wholesale replacement fuel or as an additive to improve the efficiency of other jet fuels, according to the study.

"The aircraft using this fuel can fly farther and carry more than those using conventional jet fuel, which can decrease the CO2 emissions during the taking off and landing," Li noted.

Scientists expect the cheap, simple and energy-efficient process can be applied soon for commercial use.