Researchers from the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory have developed a new chemical process for turning human waste from airplane bathrooms into a potential source of future airplane fuel.

According to the researchers, the organic waste collected from airplane bathrooms was transformed into paraffin — a combustible hydrocarbon, which is an ingredient used in aviation fuel — via a chemical process that removes excess water from wet waste, which can include human waste and food scraps.

Reportedly, the researchers manipulated the chain length of the carbon molecules within the wet waste, producing short-chain and medium-chain carboxylic acids, which are precursors for biofuels called volatile fatty acids (VFAs).

The team then elongated the carbon backbone of the VFAs using a ketonization process that produced paraffin-rich hydrocarbons and isoparaffin-rich hydrocarbons that are appropriate for use as jet fuel.

The researchers suggest that the new wet waste-derived biofuel could potentially reduce the airline industry’s greenhouse gas emissions by 165%.

The research appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.