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dC10cmFuc2Zvcm06aW5oZXJpdH0udGItYnV0dG9uX19jb250ZW50e3ZlcnRpY2FsLWFsaWduOm1pZGRsZTt0cmFuc2l0aW9uOmFsbCAwLjNzIGVhc2V9LnRiLWJ1dHRvbl9faWNvbnt0cmFuc2l0aW9uOmFsbCAwLjNzIGVhc2U7ZGlzcGxheTppbmxpbmUtYmxvY2s7dmVydGljYWwtYWxpZ246bWlkZGxlO2ZvbnQtc3R5bGU6bm9ybWFsICFpbXBvcnRhbnR9LnRiLWJ1dHRvbl9faWNvbjo6YmVmb3Jle2NvbnRlbnQ6YXR0cihkYXRhLWZvbnQtY29kZSk7Zm9udC13ZWlnaHQ6bm9ybWFsICFpbXBvcnRhbnR9LnRiLWJ1dHRvbl9fbGlua3tiYWNrZ3JvdW5kLWNvbG9yOiM0NDQ7Ym9yZGVyLXJhZGl1czowLjNlbTtmb250LXNpemU6MS4zZW07bWFyZ2luLWJvdHRvbTowLjc2ZW07cGFkZGluZzowLjU1ZW0gMS41ZW0gMC41NWVtfSAgIH0g

Carbon alternatives: A matter of scale

June 14, 2026

Insight

Chemistry

carbon capture, decarbonisation, sustainable chemistry

The quest to replace fossil fuels is yet another example of the gap between lab experimentation and industrial production at scale, says David Bott.

It’s well known that the single-use plastic packaging that makes up a disposable water bottle is derived from oil and gas. What’s not as well known is everything else that comes from these fossil carbon feedstocks, not just plastics but also synthetic fibres like polyester or nylon, detergents for cleaning, adhesives to stick things together, coatings to protect or decorate materials, and lifesaving pharmaceuticals, to name just a few.

Fossil carbon feedstocks are therefore very useful and important, and they have become established due to their abundance and cost, the chemical properties of hydrocarbons and the properties of the materials derived from them.

However, they come with significant implications. Global petrochemical production emits hundreds of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide [1] each year, millions of tonnes of plastic waste [2] enter the oceans and petrochemicals rely on oil and gas which are finite resources. As conventional reserves decline, extraction becomes more energy-intensive and polluting.

So, there is a demand to move away from fossil carbon. But if we aren’t getting carbon from fossil carbon sources – where are we getting it from?

Society’s demand for the products derived from fossil carbon is enormous. The petrochemicals supply chain (derived from oil and gas) will account for about 2.8bn tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year [3], approximately 7.3% of the carbon extracted.

Some of the potential alternative sources of carbon that have been explored are biomass, recycling of existing plastics, and capturing carbon dioxide (from ambient air, pre-combustion, or post-combustion). While there has been progress in biomass and plastic recycling, the Flue2Chem project looked at carbon capture, in particular post-combustion from flues and chimneys where carbon dioxide is many times higher than in ambient air.

Flue2Chem

Flue2Chem began as an Innovate UK-funded consortium that united 17 partners – consumer goods manufacturers, chemical companies, SMEs, universities and trade bodies – to prove that carbon captured from UK industry can be diverted into new supply chains, rather than being lost to the atmosphere.

The goal of the project was to start with a nonfossil source of carbon, and to turn it into a useful molecule. This would demonstrate that there was a different way of making things, and through the process it would reveal what is possible, and whether it was commercially viable.

The target molecule – the molecule that the project was looking to produce at the end of the process – was a non-ionic surfactant. These surfactants are widely used in consumer cleaning products and are relatively simple. They are made up of a hydrophobic end, comprising a 12-14 carbon atom chain, and a hydrophilic end, made up of five to seven ethylene oxide units.

There are basically three ways to capture carbon dioxide; solvent adsorption, solid phase adsorption and membranes. Flue2Chem partners looked at solvents and solid phase process here.

The next step was to turn carbon dioxide into the fatty alcohol and ethylene oxide elements of the surfactant. This could be accomplished by thermo-chemical processes, or by biochemical processes. Once produced, these two components had to be reacted together to make the final surfactant, before evaluation of the surfactant to ensure that changing the carbon source did not change the properties of the final product.

Decarbonisation

Decarbonisation is a hot topic and governments in various regions are aiming towards Net Zero and transitioning away from fossil carbon as a fuel. The UK is committed to Net Zero by 2050, and the EU is looking to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. But the petrochemical supply chain can’t be decarbonised without inventing entirely new materials that replace all of the carbon-based products that it produces.

One day, it might be possible to ‘defossilise’ the petrochemical supply chain, which would be stopping using virgin fossil carbon as a feedstock entirely. Flue2Chem showed the potential to do this, but it also demonstrated the work that needs to be done before its possible. Really, the goal is not to stop using carbon, it is to stop taking it out of the ground and putting it into the ecosphere.

Fossil carbon feedstocks are therefore very useful and important, and they have become established due to their abundance and cost, the chemical properties of hydrocarbons and the properties of the materials derived from them

The three sources of carbon that are proposed as replacements for fossil carbon (biomass, plastic recycling and carbon capture) will all be required together to replace fossil carbon feedstocks.

This current system is not yet economically viable. High costs for aspects such as green hydrogen mean that commercial deployment is not feasible without additional policy support or incentives.

But we’re not there yet, and it will be a long time before it will be possible to replace fossil carbon feedstocks in the petrochemicals supply chain. As with so many scientific breakthroughs, the challenge is to take success in the lab and deliver it at scale, and consortia such as Flue2Chem, where industry and academia work closely together, offer the best way to accomplish this.