The internet was recently abuzz with concern and speculation over the whereabouts of Julian Brown, better known as NatureJab. This young inventor has garnered significant attention for his groundbreaking work: converting plastic waste into usable fuels like gasoline, diesel, and even jet fuel. Alarm bells rang when he went silent after posting cryptic messages online, hinting that he was “under attack.”

The Scare and the Safe Return

Reports and social media chatter suggested the worst, fearing for the safety of the brilliant mind behind these revolutionary ideas. However, the anxieties were thankfully put to rest by his mother, Nia Brown, who publicly confirmed that Julian is safe. While he’s currently maintaining a low profile for security reasons, his well-being is not in question.

The initial panic stemmed from his alarming social media posts in early July 2025, where he described unusual occurrences and asked for prayers. Despite the Atlanta Police Department not investigating a missing persons case under his name, the digital community continued to link his silence to his potentially disruptive invention: “Plastoline.”

Meet the “Backyard Scientist” and His “Plastoline”

Julian Brown’s journey is truly inspiring. With a knack for hands-on experimentation, he earned the moniker “backyard scientist” by documenting his work on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. He showcases self-built reactors that turn various plastic wastes – from bags to milk jugs – into liquid fuel.

His core innovation lies in microwave pyrolysis. While pyrolysis (breaking down materials with heat in the absence of oxygen) is a well-established industrial process, Brown’s unique approach involves a microwave-powered pyrolysis reactor. This method offers distinct advantages over traditional heating elements, such as more uniform heating, faster reaction times, and potentially better control over the final products.

The fuel he produces is dubbed “Plastoline,” and he claims it’s a viable alternative to conventional gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Driven by a passion to tackle the enormous problem of plastic waste, Brown views discarded plastics as “untapped energy” waiting to be converted into valuable resources. He’s also ambitiously working towards powering his reactor with solar panels, aiming for a carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative fuel production. Early lab tests of his “plastidiesel” have shown promising results, even suggesting it might burn cleaner than typical diesel.

Challenges and Recognition

Julian’s DIY approach, while admirable, has come with its share of challenges. A past accident involving burns during an experiment underscores the inherent risks of working with high temperatures and flammable materials. Scalability also remains a significant hurdle; transforming his small-scale success into a solution for global plastic waste requires massive engineering and economic effort. The energy balance of the process—whether the energy input outweighs the energy output—is another area of ongoing scientific debate, though Brown highlights the value recovery from waste.

Despite these hurdles, his self-taught brilliance has earned him considerable recognition, including features in Forbes and a grant from Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

Plastic-to-Fuel: The Broader Picture

Julian Brown’s work is a fascinating individual contribution to the broader field of plastic-to-fuel technologies. It’s crucial to understand that while he’s innovating at a more accessible level, the conversion of plastic into diesel fuel is fundamentally a complex chemical engineering process known as pyrolysis.

How Plastic to Diesel (Pyrolysis) Works:

1. Collection and Sorting (Pre-treatment): Suitable plastic waste (PE, PP, PS) is collected, sorted to remove non-plastics, and then shredded to increase surface area. Washing and drying may also occur.
2. Pyrolysis Reactor: Shredded plastic is fed into an oxygen-free reactor and heated to high temperatures (300°C to 700°C). This breaks down the long polymer chains into shorter hydrocarbon vapors.
3. Vaporization and Condensation: The hot hydrocarbon vapors are cooled in a condenser, turning them back into liquid form, known as “pyrolysis oil” or “plastic crude oil (PCO).” Non-condensable gases (syngas) can be used to fuel the reactor, and carbon black is typically a solid residue.
4. Refining (Optional but Recommended): The raw pyrolysis oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons. To produce high-quality diesel, it often undergoes further refining, such as fractional distillation and hydro-processing, to remove impurities and improve fuel properties.

Benefits and Considerations:

Key Benefits:

• Waste Reduction: Significantly reduces plastic waste in landfills.
• Resource Recovery: Converts waste into valuable hydrocarbons, lessening reliance on virgin fossil fuels.
• Alternative Fuel Source: Provides a potential supplement to traditional diesel.
• Energy Efficiency: Can be self-sustaining by using produced syngas.

Challenges and Considerations:

• Fuel Quality: Varies based on feedstock and conditions; often requires further refining.
• Emissions: Burning the derived fuel still produces CO2 and other emissions, as plastics are fossil-fuel based. It’s not “zero-emission.”
• Feedstock Variability: Different plastics behave differently, complicating mixed waste processing.
• Scaling: Moving from small-scale to industrial levels is a major engineering and economic hurdle.
• Investment Cost: Setting up industrial plants is expensive.
• Regulatory Hurdles: Complex regulations for waste processing and fuel production exist.

In summary, Julian Brown’s work highlights the incredible potential of individual innovation in tackling global challenges. While his “backyard scientist” approach has captured imaginations, it’s part of a larger, established industrial process. Converting plastic waste into fuel offers a valuable pathway for resource recovery and waste management, contributing to a more circular economy, even if it’s not a magical “zero-emission” solution.

His work is a fascinating example of individual innovation in the field of waste-to-energy. Here’s what’s known about his method and his work:

• Microwave Pyrolysis: While pyrolysis (thermal decomposition in the absence of oxygen) is a well-established industrial process, Julian Brown’s innovation lies in his development of a microwave-powered pyrolysis reactor.²
  • How it differs: Traditional pyrolysis often uses conventional heating elements. Microwave pyrolysis uses microwave energy to heat the plastic, which can offer advantages like more uniform heating, faster reaction times, and potentially better control over the breakdown products.³
  • “Plastoline”: This is the name he has given to the fuel he produces, which he claims is an alternative to gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.⁴
• “Backyard Scientist” Approach: Julian Brown gained popularity through social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where he documented his experiments from his backyard, earning him the nickname “backyard scientist.”⁵ He showcases his self-built reactors and the process of converting various types of plastic waste (like bags, bottles, milk jugs) into liquid fuel.⁶
• Solar-Powered: He has stated his goal of powering his microwave pyrolysis reactor using renewable energy sources like solar panels, aiming for a carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative fuel production process in the long run.⁷ He has raised funds for this solar array.⁸
• Fuel Testing: He has claimed that samples of his “plastidiesel” have been tested by labs (like ASAP Labs in Washington) and have shown promising results, even indicating that they might burn cleaner than typical diesel.⁹
• Motivation: Brown’s motivation stems from a desire to address the massive problem of plastic waste and pollution, believing that plastics represent “untapped energy” that can be converted into valuable resources.¹⁰ He highlights the inefficiencies in traditional recycling and aims to offer a decentralized solution.
• Challenges and Recognition:
  • Safety: His DIY approach has led to at least one documented accident involving burns, highlighting the inherent dangers of working with high temperatures and flammable materials if proper safety protocols and industrial equipment are not in place.
  • Scalability: While he has demonstrated the process on a small scale, scaling it up to handle the vast quantities of global plastic waste is a significant engineering and economic challenge.
  • Energy Balance: Like all pyrolysis processes, there’s a debate on whether the energy input required for the conversion is less than or greater than the energy output from the fuel, especially when considering the full lifecycle. He acknowledges that energy input is higher but emphasizes the value recovery from waste.
  • Recognition: Despite being a self-taught inventor (with welding certifications), he has gained significant recognition, including being featured by Forbes and receiving a grant from Alexis Ohanian (Reddit co-founder).¹¹

It’s important to distinguish between the well-established chemical process of pyrolysis (which has been known for decades) and Julian Brown’s specific innovative approach of applying microwave technology and his dedication to doing it at a more accessible level, aiming for decentralized waste solutions. His work contributes to the broader field of plastic-to-fuel technologies.

However, it’s crucial to understand a few things:

1. This is an Industrial Process: Making diesel fuel from plastic is a complex chemical engineering process that requires specialized equipment, high temperatures, careful control, and safety protocols. It is absolutely not a DIY project that you can do at home safely or effectively.
2. Not for Onboard Production: You asked about a jet pack and a flying motorcycle previously. This process is about producing diesel fuel from plastic, not generating it on board your flying vehicle. You would feed plastic waste into a dedicated pyrolysis plant, produce the diesel, and then refuel your vehicle with that produced diesel.
3. Fuel Quality and Emissions: The “diesel” produced from plastic pyrolysis can vary in quality.² While some processes can produce fuel that meets certain diesel standards, it often requires further refining. Burning this fuel will still produce greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) and potentially other pollutants, as plastic is primarily derived from fossil fuels (hydrocarbons).³ It’s a way to deal with waste and create an alternative fuel source, but it’s not “zero-emission” at the point of combustion.

How Plastic to Diesel (Pyrolysis) Works:

The most common method for converting plastic waste into fuel is pyrolysis.

The Basic Principle:

Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of organic materials in the absence of oxygen.⁴ When plastics are heated to high temperatures without oxygen, they break down into simpler hydrocarbon molecules, which can then be condensed into a liquid fuel similar to crude oil, and further refined into diesel, gasoline, kerosene, or other chemical raw materials.

Simplified Steps of the Pyrolysis Process:

1. Collection and Sorting (Pre-treatment):
   • Plastic waste (e.g., polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) are most suitable) is collected.⁵
   • It’s sorted to remove non-plastic materials (metals, glass, paper) and ideally, different plastic types are separated, as some plastics (like PET) are harder to pyrolyze directly.
   • The sorted plastic is then shredded into small pieces to increase surface area for more efficient processing.
   • Washing and drying may also occur to remove contaminants and moisture.⁶
2. Pyrolysis Reactor:
   • The shredded plastic is fed into a sealed, oxygen-free reactor chamber.⁷
   • It’s heated to high temperatures, typically ranging from 300°C to 700°C (572°F to 1292°F).
   • At these temperatures, the long polymer chains of the plastic break down (thermal decomposition) into shorter-chain hydrocarbon molecules, forming vapors.
3. Vaporization and Condensation:
   • The hot hydrocarbon vapors produced in the reactor are then passed through a cooling system, such as a condenser.⁸
   • As the vapors cool, they condense back into a liquid form, often referred to as “pyrolysis oil” or “plastic crude oil (PCO).”
   • Some non-condensable gases (syngas) are also produced, which can often be re-used to fuel the pyrolysis reactor itself, making the process more energy-efficient. Carbon black (a solid residue) is also typically left behind.
4. Refining (Optional but Recommended for Diesel):
   • The raw pyrolysis oil is typically a mixture of different hydrocarbons with varying boiling points and may contain impurities (like sulfur, though plastic is usually low in sulfur).⁹
   • To produce a high-quality diesel fuel that meets engine specifications, this pyrolysis oil undergoes further refining processes, such as:
     • Fractional Distillation: Separating the oil into different fractions (e.g., gasoline, kerosene, diesel range) based on their boiling points.¹⁰
     • Hydro-processing / Catalytic Upgrading: Using hydrogen and catalysts to remove impurities and improve the fuel’s properties (e.g., cetane number for diesel, stability, and reduce undesirable compounds).¹¹

Key Benefits of Plastic-to-Fuel Pyrolysis:

• Waste Reduction: Reduces the volume of plastic waste going to landfills or incinerators.
• Resource Recovery: Converts waste plastic back into valuable hydrocarbon resources, reducing reliance on virgin fossil fuels.
• Alternative Fuel Source: Provides a potential alternative or supplement to traditional diesel.
• Energy Efficiency: The self-sustaining nature (using produced syngas to fuel the reactor) can make it energy-efficient.

Challenges and Considerations:

• Fuel Quality: The quality of the diesel can vary depending on the type of plastic feedstock and the pyrolysis conditions.¹² Further refining is often needed to meet strict fuel standards.
• Emissions: While it diverts waste from landfills, burning the derived diesel still produces CO2 and potentially other emissions.¹³ The overall life cycle emissions need careful assessment.
• Feedstock Variability: Different types of plastic (PE, PP, PS, PVC, PET) behave differently during pyrolysis, and mixed plastic waste can make the process more complex and affect product quality.¹⁴ Contaminants also need to be managed.
• Scaling: While small-scale pilot plants exist, scaling up to industrial levels efficiently and economically is a significant challenge.
• Investment Cost: Setting up a plastic-to-fuel plant requires substantial capital investment.¹⁵
• Regulatory Hurdles: Regulations regarding waste processing and fuel production can be complex. The EPA in the US, for example, has had debates on how to classify and regulate pyrolysis.

In Summary:

Making diesel fuel from plastic is a viable chemical process (pyrolysis) that is a part of the circular economy discussion for managing plastic waste. It’s an industrial operation, not something you’d do in your garage, and the fuel produced would then be used in conventional diesel engines. It does not create a “zero-emission” fuel at the point of combustion but offers a pathway to valorize plastic waste.