The metal Iridium is being used in a new process designed to turn substances containing hydrogen and carbon into useful fuels.

It is thought that the process could be used to turn coal, leftover oil refinery products and plants into diesel fuel.

An Iridium-based catalyst is used to break up hydrogen and carbon molecules in the material.

This causes the carbon atoms to form long chains and when the Iridium catalyst releases the hydrogen atoms, potentially useful hydrocarbon chains are formed.

A full description of the process is to be published by chemists Alan Goldman of Rutgers University and Maurice Brookhart of the University of North Carolina in the journal Science.

"We take all these undesirable medium-weight substances and convert them to the useful higher- and lower-weight products," Mr Goldman said.

The scientists involved added that there was still much refinement that had to be made to the method.

Ÿ Adfero Ltd