Renewable liquid gases are an essential part of the decarbonisation solution by providing a sustainable, clean and reliable energy source to the off-grid energy segment. Renewable and recycled carbon DME (rDME) can be produced from waste and renewable feedstocks and can potentially save CO₂ emissions up to 80% compared to fossil liquefied petroleum gases (LPG).

Significant carbon savings can be achieved either by blending rDME with LPG or by 100% replacing fossil LPG with rDME, hence helping the sector to reach net-zero GHG emissions in line with global government targets. Our industry partner Dimeta B.V. has embarked on the first pilot plant to produce rDME in the UK, with ambitions to expand to the EU and USA, to accelerate the uptake of the renewable alternative LPG fuels. However, the key barriers are:

1. The system efficiency and optimisation
2. Scale-up capabilities
3. Policy support for technology uptake.

This project will address these barriers investigating how to maximise the system performance and enable uptake and effective use of low-carbon alternative fuels for the off-grid LPG segment. We will study process optimisation and how to maximise energy efficiency to enhance techno-economic viability. This will be done through modelling combustion and emission analysis at point of use and feedstock sensitivity to support process design and scale-up. We will also conduct a study to identify regional resources, strengths and case studies for demonstration.

This project is led by Ruoyang Yuan.