Researchers to develop energy efficient process to convert waste gases into biofuel

Xinhua Liang receives $2.1 million from the Department of Energy to produce dimethyl ether from waste

Leah Shaffer 01.30.2025

A tanker ship equipped with storage for liquified petroleum gas or LPG could also accommodate potential diesel replacement dimethyl ether (DME). DME’s ability to work with existing infrastructure is why it could be a potent biofuel and feedstock for making industries more carbon neutral.

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People interact with dimethyl ether in some form every day, most commonly through its function as a refrigerant. DME is one of those intermediary gasses that can turn chemicals into different useful chemicals and turn waste into gases that serve as fuel.

Engineers at Washington University in St. Louis will be working to improve energy efficiency in production of that useful gas thanks to a $2.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The work, headed up by Xinhua Liang, professor of energy, environmental & chemical engineering at WashU's McKelvey School of Engineering, is one of 66 projects selected by the DOE to support “transformational technologies” that reduce energy demand and improve American productivity, according to the DOE.

“Dimethyl ether is one important intermediate for producing several chemicals,” Liang said, noting that DME can serve as an alternative fuel to replace diesel gas because of its desirable properties, such as high efficiency of combustion and low emissions of nitric oxide and carbon monoxide.

In addition, it can be handled with similar infrastructure that contains liquified petroleum gas.

For next-generation technologies to serve as a bridge to more carbon-neutral production, the tech needs to fit the existing infrastructure, Liang noted. This grant is just one of the “carbon management” projects Liang has taken on in the past few years. Previously, he was awarded $2 million to research converting CO2 to alternative cement and most recently received $1.5 million to research converting CO2 to carbon nanotubes.

Sourcing the building blocks for DME production is its own form of waste reduction because the process starts with collecting “waste gases.” These gases are produced in bioproduction. Where there is fermenting living mass, either in the production of food or fuel, there are waste gases that can be collected and turned into something useful.

That’s where Liang’s lab comes into play, in partnership with National Renewable Energy Laboratory and BASF, the world's largest chemical company. His task is to develop a more energy-efficient process to convert waste gases like CO2 and methane into DME.

To do this, they will use electrified induction heating but localize the heat source to only what’s necessary for the thermocatalytic process. Fine-tuning the process will happen over the next three years.

“Our goal is to deliver one prototype system and help enable this biofuel to be more affordable to mass-produce.”

The McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis promotes independent inquiry and education with an emphasis on scientific excellence, innovation and collaboration without boundaries. McKelvey Engineering has top-ranked research and graduate programs across departments, particularly in biomedical engineering, environmental engineering and computing, and has one of the most selective undergraduate programs in the country. With 165 full-time faculty, 1,420 undergraduate students, 1,614 graduate students and 21,000 living alumni, we are working to solve some of society’s greatest challenges; to prepare students to become leaders and innovate throughout their careers; and to be a catalyst of economic development for the St. Louis region and beyond.